The Stark Scion
by tonystarkxjanine
Summary: Years after a fateful night in Switzerland, Tony discovered he had a three year old son. Amidst the genius, greatness, and glory, his greatest creation was, is, and will always be his son, Peter. This story takes place before the Iron Man arc but will eventually get there until Endgame.
1. Chapter 1

**Scion: a descendant of a notable family.**

* * *

**The Stark ****Scion**

**Bern, Switzerland. 2001.**

The lights out, the music's loud and different disco lights danced around. The party's going wild at the lobby of the luxurious hotel. It's New Year's Eve and everyone's out to celebrate and mingle.

Tony glanced around the room and saw different bunch of ladies seductively giving him a look. He sipped another drink of his scotch and grinned. It's just what he needs after a boring and grueling conference he has spoken into earlier about Integrated Circuits.

He met a lot of interesting people including a bright and beautiful botanist named Maya Hansen who got his attention. She presented her research to him, the "Extremist", which can hack into an area of the brain causing repair and chemically recode it. Tony found it fascinating and with great potential, but unfortunately it also poses a great risk on human application. He had no choice but to turn it down.

"Half hour till the ball drops, Boss." Happy whispered to him against the loud music, cautiously eyeing anyone who got close in contact with him.

"Good. We have a lot of time to-"

"Mary Fitzpatrick." He was cut-off of what he's about to say when a beautiful face in a tight sexily fitting outfit came close to him, close enough to hear him breathing, holding out her hand for a handshake.

He found himself staring at a deep set of hazel brown eyes enchanting him. Wow, he just found himself smitten.

"Tony Stark." He gladly accepted the handshake. Boy, who is he to back out of this one. Clearly, this woman is confident and strong-willed for coming up to him when most of the other girls are intimidated by his presence.

"You look rather exquisite, Ms. Fitzpatrick. What are you up to later?" He asked as if she had the same idea in mind.

"Call me, Mary, Mr. Stark. I want to show you my research." She stated in a lovely voice smiling.

"Tony. Call me Tony. So what is this research?"

He drinks another from his scotch and started to walk with Mary, his hands enveloped around her waist.

"Perhaps we can talk privately, somewhere with much more quiet."

"Like the bedroom? Or how or where you'd like to-"

"Mr Stark! Great Speech, man!" A boy suddenly came to them interrupting their conversation. Happy have managed to get the boy to back off quickly.

He turned to the boy. "I gave a speech. Yeah how was it?"

"Edifying." The boy called out proudly giving a thumbs up while being dragged by Happy.

"Unintelligible" Mary sarcastically pointed out which perked him up.

Now, he's curious. "Really? That's my favorite kind. A winning combo."

As they walked, a few people came to introduce themselves including a known surgeon, Yin Hansen who introduced another Doctor, Dr. Wu. He somehow has entertained them but pretty sure he's not going to remember all of the names in the morning.

They're about to go up the elevator when a guy rushed to present another business agenda, but he's already so eager to talk to Mary, he has no time for business talks. The guy named Aldrich Killian managed to get past Happy at the elevator and went with them. Slowly losing his patience, he managed to trick the guy into waiting for him at the rooftop so they won't be disturbed anymore.

.

.

"You're the most brilliant woman I've ever met." Tony complimented as Mary finished talking to him about her research at his bedroom. He can't stop staring at her, and all throughout he admires how a woman this beautiful can be as bright and intelligent.

Her research by far is undeniably impressive and really new. A research focused on genetics that showed how an animal's DNA can be incorporated into various things that can benefit society and how it has the potential to be genetically mixed with human DNA that can work miraculous healing for the human body. The research also poses as a great risk to human application but with the right math, this can turn into an extra-ordinary feat.

Mary laughed and her face flushed. "Oh, Wow. How many times have you used that line?"

"Well in Switzerland, you are." Tony let out a laugh as well and touched her long natural brown locks.

She gently pulled off Tony's red sunglasses as they continued to stare at each other eyes, gradually being bewitched by the tension each other brings.

He clarified what he understood about the research. "So basically, you are genetically hacking into the Operating System of the animal making it completely more stable and strong, healing in advanced, something like that?"

"Yes, unfortunately, I can't get the formula right. There's so many small glitch."

"Have you checked the decay rate algo-"

Suddenly, a loud booming sound of explosion came from the living room of his suite, stopping him mid-sentence, startling both of them. Happy came soon afterwards from the door launching onto him on the bed, trying to protect him from the blast a little too late when they were all just indeed safe.

"It's fine Hap. I'm alive. I'm okay." holding his arms out patting Happy in the back. Happy got up and checked the living room while Mary chuckled at the sight.

"It's the plant boss. The gift of Maya Hansen earlier, I just tore the leaf off. I didn't know it would explode."

Tony's brows furrowed. "Well that was the glitch she's talking about."

Just then, they heard the cheers and fireworks from outside indicating it's the New Year. They greeted each other a Happy New Year and Happy already got out to give them their privacy. Tony and Mary sealed off the New Year with a kiss and lots of booze to party it out. Completely forgetting the talk they just had a few minutes before the blast. They cape the night of sleeping into each other's arms blissfully naked and unaware of the fateful night they just had.

The morning after, Tony figured out the formula for the glitch, he wrote it out on a piece of paper, leaving it for Mary to decipher, before heading out.

* * *

**Malibu, California. 2005.**

"Okay! Just a few more tests and we're on the road."

Tony's veins surged with energy and excitement. Just another day as he tinkers in his lab with loud rock music blazing on that made him dance a little while typing and sitting in his chair. This will be the last day Tony's been programming the most advanced AI Stark tech to date, which he plans on calling "JARVIS". An idea which he had three days ago in recollection of the birthday of Jarvis, their butler, his companion and friend. More than what he'd liked to admit, he missed Jarvis a lot and maybe in some way having an AI with the same courteousness can make this house a little homier.

It is a fine sunny day in Malibu with just the perfect temperature to suit in relaxation. Tony typed in the last remaining codes, compiled and run the program. In just a few minutes, the AI was successfully and completely integrated in his home and the rest of Stark Industries, JARVIS is good to go.

"Good Afternoon, Mr. Stark. It is a pleasure to be of service." The British accented voice said as the lights flicked in a color of blue.

Tony grinned and let out a sigh of relief. "Alright!" It's good to have someone in the house rather than being alone in silence. "It's indeed a nice afternoon JARVIS."

He glanced and turned around staring at the vast blue ocean overlooking his home just as the black mechanical curtains of his lab pulled up when the doorbell suddenly ringed, the sound of DING DONG echoed across the house, just as the live feed of the front door shows up. "Ugh. What is it this time? Who is that?"

"Sir, there is a woman waiting outside named Mary Parker. Would you like to let her come in?" JARVIS programming security scans every person before they enter the house running general background checks on them that is usually from public records.

_Mary Parker_? His forehead furrowed as he tries to remember a woman named Mary Parker but he can't remember any. It's his first time to hear of the name.

He headed upstairs. The front glass door opens up just as he was close and the woman stepped in. As soon as he saw her, he immediately recognized who she is. Who could ever forget that beautiful face, but what is she doing here?

"Ah uh. Right there is fine." Tony pointed at her to stop her tracks and eyed the woman, still confused on to how she is here.

"Oh you don't remember." She winced in disbelief.

"Am I supposed to?"

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Don't take it personally; I don't remember what I had for breakfast."

"Gluten free chia breakfast bowl with blueberries and waffles, Sir." JARVIS answered the both of them, having scanned the cameras from the past.

Tony chuckled and grinned. "I'm just messing with you. Of course, who could forget that pretty face? Mary Fitzpatrick! but why is it Parker now?"

Mary holds out her hand with a ring. "Oh, that's why,"

He wondered why she is here. She's still the same attractive brown eyed and haired woman he went smitten to before.

"So what brings you here? What can I do for you? This visit doesn't really pertain to a secret love child is it?,"

He laughed jokingly but Mary didn't even flinch, she stared serious at him.

His heart thuds and his chest frantically tightened. _You've got to be kidding me_.

"No…" He murmured and Mary apologetically pursed her lips mumbling "I'm sorry."

"Really? It's just one night." He tried to convince her and himself it's not true. Maybe this woman's just making a prank out of him.

"He's three years old, Tony."

Tony flinched horrified, furrowing his eyebrows and a short silence follows.

"You're seriously a 100% not kidding right now? Cause whew this is- Wow**.**" His voice grew tense. Being shocked is an understatement. His knees are going weak. They sat on the couch opposite each other.

Mary smiled at him. "Relax Tony. I'm not forcing you to take any responsibility. If you don't want to, its fine. No pressure."

"Then why are you here?" Tony's eyes squinted.

He's sure of himself that he's not yet ready to be a Father. He enjoys most of his time in parties, bars, and casino's. Having occasionally a girl in tow and a scotch every other day which might label him now as an alcoholic. He's nowhere near Father Material and he doesn't even know how to be one especially his father really hasn't even given him a good picture, hasn't been a good role model to him.

"I have a dangerous mission right now with my husband. It's not something we can easily dodge and let go of. Peter is safe right now, and no words can describe how I love him. I just have this feeling that I can't shake off for a while now and if something might happen to us... I want you to take care of him Tony. I know you're thinking you're not ready, I understand that and most probably this is just a what if. I just want to let you know so when if that time comes, you'll be there for him."

There was a silence that follows. Now he's sure his past actions are biting him in the ass.

"Richard, my husband, he knows you're the real father, but he still took responsibility cause he loves me so much and he's a man of his word. He loves Peter as much as his own."

"Peter." _A profound name._ A light warmth and glee slowly enrapturing Tony even though he's trying to push passed it.

Mary's hands held Tony's and squeezed it softly forming a smile. "I hope you'll get to meet him someday with an open heart."

"Yeah. It's just getting hard to absorb this big bomb you dropped on me." A small nervous smile formed on his lips. Hoping against hope that this is just a gimmick and there's someone who will shout and say that this is just one big fat joke.

"I'm sorry Tony." With that she stands with hopeful eyes, and let herself out. Tony's eyes followed her and glanced back to the ocean, mind racing and perplexed.

"Oh what have I gotten myself into?" staring into oblivion Tony closed his eyes and let the memories washed in front of him.


	2. Chapter 2

It has been eight months since he last heard of Mary. The kid's going to be okay he assured himself. He has responsible and kind parents and an aunt and uncle to rely on. At least that's what he's trying to tell himself for the past months since he knew. After that talk he immediately pulled out all the information regarding the couple.

"JARVIS pull out everything we have for Mary and Richard Parker. I want to know everything."

"Right away, Sir." In a few seconds, pictures and documents popped up on the screen. JARVIS continued summarizing all the files.

"Richard and Mary Parker worked for the CIA until 2001 and have been recruited by SHIELD from 2002 until now. Mary Parker is an only child with no close relatives, while Richard Parker has a brother named Ben with a wife named May. Mary is still a geneticist studying animal DNA alongside her husband."

So they're basically just scientists of SHIELD, but what are they doing being field agents risking their lives for a mission. The question was purely rhetorical and well it's as if I can stop them he thought.

Tony was pushed back into consciousness when Rhodey puts his hand on his shoulder.

"You're lost in thought Tony. You're not in any trouble now, are you?" Rhodey shot a concerned look at Tony. They were sitting in a world famous racing circuit in California waiting for the race to begin. It has been a while since he watched a race with his best friend slightly wondering if he should drive in the track too.

"Oh, you're not gonna believe me if I tell you." Tony crossed his legs and sipped his glass of champagne.

"Really? Try me. C'mon Tony, I've practically been your babysitter next to Pepper."

"Yeah, she makes my life easier." Tony hired Pepper two years ago. Apparently, she's the most reliable, dependable and trustworthy secretary he ever had. The company has never been better.

"So? What's been bothering you?"

Hesitating for a second, shaking a deep breath before continuing.

"So, I found out I have a kid." There I said it.

Rhodey looked at Tony with playful eyes waiting for him to tell him it's a joke, but nothing and his eyes are now widening, Tony just stared at him with a serious face. "Wait, WHAT? Tony.."

"Rhodes, I'm serious."

"You have to be kidding me Tony, you're barely a baby yourself."

"Really Rhodes?" giving Rhodey a hurt look. "Look it's nothing to worry about, his Mom, the woman assured me it's no responsibility of mine."

Before Rhodey can even reply, Tony's phone rang that startled both of them. There's no caller ID, just a phone number. "What's with all the goddamn reporters having my phone number?"

"Pick it up Tony, you never know what's at the other end of that line, and maybe change your number already after this."

He picked up his phone, ready to give the reporter a scare. "You guys don't ever leave me alone, do you? I said a thousand times call my office or my company for any interviews you might want..."

"Mr. Stark. I'm sorry to interrupt, but I'm Agnes Clark. I'm not a reporter, I'm from New York Social Services." he shot Rhodey a look and clearly his bestfriend can also hear the woman in his phone talking. "Are you familiar with Ben and May Parker, Mr. Stark?"

"Yeah..." a pounding in his chest grew. This could mean...

"Ben has been shot yesterday Mr. Stark and he's dead on the spot, May was also in the scene stabbed and shot. They're both dead Mr. Stark. Their nephew, Peter has been with us since his Aunt and Uncle were found. The boy's parents, Richard and Mary Parker have passed away last seven months caused by a plane crash. Their neighbour Mrs. Leeds, who May asked to care for Peter before she went out said that May specifically asked to call you Mr. Stark in case she doesn't come back. She said you're Peter's biological Father?"

Tony's breathing hitched. His suspicions of what happened are now undeniably in fact true.

"Y-yes, I am. Yes I am his Father." Wow, did I just say that out loud?

"Mr. Stark, can you come in here now? We have a few questions and we wouldn't want to delay this as Peter has nowhere to go now."

"Yes no problem. I'm still in California so I'll be there in about five hours."

"We're in Queens New York Social Services, Mr. Stark. Thank you. We'll be waiting."

With that the call ended, and he then called Pepper immediately. He had already told Pepper about his son a month before when he slipped up accidentally over lunch, and she was undoubtedly taken aback by surprise, shocked to even comprehend - her words exactly saying "How can a baby take care of a baby?" questioned for about an hour but then still understood afterwards, cause that's who Pepper is, the only woman who can even put up with him amidst his darkest, most stupid antics.

"Pepper, call my lawyers. I'm going to New York, it's about Peter. There's been an emergency; he has nowhere to go now."

"Oh my God, okay Tony. I'll send one of your lawyers to New York to get the paperwork done. Update me once you're in there. Make sure he's okay."

"Thanks Pep. and maybe call for a hotel, we might stay there for a few days. Please also come tomorrow once you're not busy."

"I'll try my best Tony, and please don't do anything stupid."

He called Happy, his and Air team next, and in just 30 minutes the jet's already set up and ready.

"No responsibility, your ass." Rhodey mocked. "Make sure you fix this Tony. You have a role now and this is not just anything you easily get away with. This is serious." Rhodey gave him a serious look as he reached for Tony's shoulders and gave him a small hug."

"You sure don't want to come? Maybe look out for me for a bit?"

"I've looked out for you half your life Tony. Now this, this is something you need to do on your own and I've also got business to attend to in DC. I know you can do this."

"Thanks, Rhodes." With that he hopped on the jet. Rhodey has been with him ever since high school, college and when his parents passed away. He helped Tony as he coped up with the grief and Daddy issues that slowly pushed him on a dark path. Constantly being pulled by Rhodes and Pepper to keep him on track and sober in the light of day and dark of the night. A slow process and progress but still progress nevertheless.

A thousand what if's clouded his mind. I never dreamed of having a child he thought. Surely I'm no father figure. How can I be a father to a kid when my own father hasn't even shown me how to be one? To say the least he has enjoyed the bachelor life for long, and he's still enjoying it, but is it a good example to a kid? Surely not. What kind of father would I be? What if I mess him up like my father messed me up.

He brushed his hand into his face. These questions in his mind is making him start to panic, he know there's no backing out now. The kid, Peter, he's your blood, he's your own blood. There's no way you're gonna give him up.

"You okay boss?" Happy asked, concern growing on his face.

Just then, the Pilot announced they'll soon be landing in New York. Has it already been five hours? He was so lost in thought that he lost track of time.

The hustle and bustle of New York City isn't helping either. The drive and Queen's traffic is making him uneasy the longer he waits in the car and how near they are to the SS building. He feels nervous and excited at the same time. Weirdest feeling ever. He feels as if he's about to lose his shit.

"Here we are boss."

"Thanks Hap. Circle around the block and wait for my call. Also check on the hotel, make sure they got what the kid needs."

"No problem boss."

Tony made his way to the entrance and eyed the receptionist. "I'm looking for Ms. Agnes Clark." The receptionist was about to speak up when another woman, in her mid-thirties replied.

"Mr. Stark, we've been waiting for you. I'm Agnes Clark." giving out her hand for a handshake in which Tony accepted reciprocally.

"Where's the kid?"

"Please follow me in my office, he's waiting there."

As the door swung open, Tony's heart almost flew from his chest. This is the first time he'll be seeing the boy, he even has no pictures of him. The office is slightly larger than expected and there's a playground set for children. Tony looked down to where the little boy is sitting, and there he is, his son playing a magnetic triangle toy that can be easily arranged into shapes. Brown curls and brown cheerful eyes lit up the moment the door opened. He has his mother's eyes and hair, and has chubby cheeks, arms and legs. The boy's cute he thought.

"Hi Peter, look what we have here. Someone's excited to see you." Agnes came to Peter's side and kneeled just as the boy carefully put the toys down. Agnes picked him up and went to Tony.

Peter looks at Tony ceaselessly wondering who the man might be. "A'nes, who is he?" the cute voice echoed around the room. As Peter watched him, Tony felt as if the boy is staring into his soul, he cannot voice out any words. He slowly relaxes just as he felt his heart being enveloped by a warm feeling he never felt before.

"He's Mr. Tony Stark, Peter. The one your Mommy and Auntie talked to you about. Do you remember?"

The boy nodded, tears slowly forming in his eyes. Tony's heart clenched by the sight, having this pain and grief at this age is unimaginable; unaware he's slowly being filled up by a protectiveness feeling over Peter. "He's going to take care of you now Peter. Is that ok with you?"

A sudden jittery feeling rose up from Tony's chest, what if he says no? But before he can even panic, the little boy nodded sheepishly and before he even knew what's happening Agnes is already transferring Peter into his strong hold.

"Hey bud, I'm going to take care of you now. You don't need to worry anymore." Peter dropped a tear and next thing he knew the boy is already crying in his shoulders while his hand enveloped in his neck. Tony tried to calm Peter down by rubbing his back as he assured him "It's going to be okay, kid. I'm here now."

Tony talked with Ms. Agnes afterwards, saying Peter already knew what happened to his aunt and uncle. He also knew what happened to his Parents as this was explained to him by his Aunt and Uncle after they died. Tony's lawyer came afterwards to finalize everything else. He's going to shoulder the cost and everything else for the funeral. To his surprise he found out Mary still named Peter after him. He's a Stark from the birth records. He's _Peter Parker Stark_, so he didn't have to technically adopt Peter because he is his. Agnes just needs a confirmation and legal assessment from him and his lawyer. They were done in just half an hour and are heading back to the hotel in Manhattan.

"Hey kid, you okay?" Is this how you talk to kids? I'm not even sure Tony thought.

"I'm okay." Peter shrugged while gazing out the scenery from the windows. "Where are we going Mr. Stark?"

Mr. Stark? I thought he knew I was his dad. Well, it's not as if I can force him to call me his dad right away. He had two father figures after all and we just met. And do I want to be his Dad?

"We're going to a hotel right now and we're going to stay there for a while." At least until after the funeral. "Are you hungry already?"

"Slight. Ms. Agnes only have fwuits and crackers back there and I ate only a few." Tony smiled with the way Peter said the words. It was adorably cute and wondered why he never felt like this before to other kids.

"Hap, the food's already prepared when we arrive right?"

"Yes boss, I've already ordered a kiddie meal and dinner for the two of you. Clothes, toys and toiletries are also already in there."

They were already in front of the Hotel afterwards.

"Let's go kid." Tony stepped out cradling Peter with one arm while Peter head rest in his shoulders. Just the hold Parents do to their kids. With Happy as their bodyguard, they walked to the lobby of Four Seasons on their way to the Presidential Suite. Some people shot them looks especially those who recognized Tony Stark, billionaire, genius, playboy, and philanthropist holding in his arms a child no less. Some immediately captured a shot before they can even notice.

They stepped from the elevator through their rooms "I'll be right next door boss, if you need me." "Alright. Thanks Hap, for all this." Tony tapped Happy's shoulders gratefully. Happy has been by his ever since. He's been family already.

"Always a pleasure boss." Happy said as they open their room doors.

Tony put Peter down and they immediately smelled the delicious dinner waiting for them.

"Mmm tired Mr. Stark." Peter pouted and immediately tried to climb the chair but can't reach it so Tony reached for the baby chair and put Peter on it. "But I'm also hungry."

Tony sighed "I know you sure do kid. My stomach's been grumblin too. So let's see what we have here." Right in front of them, there's a medium steak with mashed potato, a risotto, a mac and cheese, fries, chicken nuggets, and chicken soup. Some watermelon, strawberries, and blueberries. There's also some redwine, apple juice and water.

"Ok kid, let's dig in. WAIT, do you know how to eat by yourself?"

"My auntie's been teaching me. I know how." Tony watched as Peter take some fries, then some chicken nuggets and sipped some chicken soup. Although he struggled with the fork and spoon at first he managed to get it right after.

"I don't like mac and cheese Mr. Stark. My mom and auntie always cook spaghetti or lasagna at home."

"Oh Wow. I don't like mac and cheese either, kid." Well something we have in common I guess.

While Peter bites softly, Tony sipped the red wine after munching in some steak. "Can I also have a grape juice Mr. Stark? My favorite's grape juice at home."

"Uh oh, not this one kid. This one's not grape juice."

"But it's color violet and looks like grape juice."

"Trust me on this kid; tomorrow I'll have them give us grape juice for breakfast okay? For now drink up your apple juice." To Tony's horror he immediately sipped all of the red wine in his glass afraid Peter's still going to ask some.

"I'm full Mr Stark. I want to go to bed now." The kid only ate half of his plate but then since he's only four years old now it's understandable.

"Are you gonna help me clean myself up?" Oh no, Tony muttered in his head. He doesn't have any knowledge or training on how to clean up or take care of kids. How do you do this? How do parents know how to do this? Should I call Pepper and bring her here now? but Pepper's miles away and Rhode's not here, Happy must probably be out snoring right now. It's only me. He gulped. He couldn't even imagine himself doing it.

"I can help; can you tell me how your auntie does it?"

"Yeah, I can't reach for the bidet yet so she washes me up, and she doesn't like taking me to bath at night if I didn't sweat up in the day. She washes my hair. Then I brush my teeth."

"Okay. We'll get through this. Have you played earlier?"

"Yes I did with Ned."

"Who's Ned?"

"He's my friend and neighbor. We always like to play at the playground." This must be Mrs. Leeds son.

"Right then let's wash up." Tony and Peter went to the big luxury bathroom and all the baby stuff is already there.

Tony unbuttoned Peter's clothes and placed him on the tub. Slowly filling in with water in the right amount of temp, not too hot and too cold. Then he poured the baby soap that filled the tub with bubbles and made the kid giggled playing with the toy boat and rubber duckie in the tub.

"Is the water ok buddy? You like it?"

"Uhmm" Peter laughed. "Just right."

"Please be careful with the shampoo _Dad_. I don't like to have red eyes." Right then Tony's chest tightened and his breathing became uneven. Did he just call me Dad? He beamed at the thought. That's a first. While Peter blushed a bit red and bit his lip from what he just said out loud.

"Have your eyes hurt before from shampoo?"

"Yeah, I cried cause it hurts so much. Auntie cried too. but it's ok, it's not Auntie's fault."

"Okay. I'll be careful with it. Just close your eyes okay until I say I'm done."

"'Kay"

Tony poured a small amount of shampoo in his curly hair that smelled like baby powder. After rinsing into his curls with water, he then rinsed Peter's body and pat him dry gently. Okay, that wasn't so hard than he thought. Tony hugged the towel into Peter's body and carries him outside to put on some fresh clothes.

"Do you also put on your clothes by yourself or your auntie does it?"

"My uncle does Mr. Stark." Oh so now it's Mr. Stark again. He sighed and just as he had finished putting Peter's brief on. The boy ran across the room when he spotted the paper bag full of Toys.

"Hey Underoos, we're not done yet!" Tony said calling, following his eyes to where the boy went. The cute little boy rummaged through the stuff in his briefs until he chose a stuffed toy dog. He then hurriedly goes back to Tony carrying his new found friend in his chest.

"So you found a new friend huh?" Tony grinned widely. This kid is too adorable too handle. He's worried he might bite him for his cuteness.

"Yeah. He's really cute. I'll call him Oreo. He looks like an Oreo." Tony laughed at that.

"I'm afraid you're cuter than Oreo kid, C'mon let's put up your pajamas." After that they made their way to the bathroom again to brush his teeth. Peter standing at a chair cause he's too short to see the sink. After that Peter made his way to the bed but stopped shortly.

"Where will I sleep Mr. Stark?" Tony looked at the only bed, it's a king size bed to be exact which is quite large for the both of them.

"I guess we're gonna be sharing tonight bud. That okay with you?"

"Okay." Tony helped Peter to bed as he found the kid called "Help" struggling to crawl his way to bed.

"Okay kid, I'm just right here if you need me." Tony said as he sat near Peter at the side of the bed rubbing Peter's arm. Peter just stared at him for a few seconds.

"You're my Daddy right Mr. Stark? Mom and Auntie said you're my real father and that we'll meet each other someday." Tony doesn't know what to say, he sure was taken by surprise by the kid's question. So he swallowed and tried to answer the best he could.

"Yes I am Pete. and I'm sorry I haven't been in your life until now. It's much more complicated back then. But I'm here now okay? And I'm going to take care of you now and always."

Peter blinked back tears. "I miss mom and dad, and auntie and uncle, Daddy" cried Peter. Tony's heart clenched at the sight. He's even fighting back tears of his own at the sight of his son crying. Peter shouldn't deserve this much grief at such a young age. No child ever deserves this. It's too cruel for a young little boy; he's practically still just a baby for crying out loud! He promised himself he'll always protect Peter for now on. Tony pressed his thumb to the boy's cheek to dry away the tears. He held him again to his chest to calm the boy down. Staining Tony's shirt with tears and hugging him as he cried.

"I know you do buddy. I know you do. But I'm sure they're always watching you from where they are now."

"Like Heaven?"

"Yes like Heaven bud and I know they want you to know they're alright and happy up there as long as you're happy and safe right here."

Slowly the sobbing stops and Peter's breathing evened out. Five minutes passed and Tony knew the kid is already sleeping. After half an hour making sure the boy is sleeping soundly, he kissed his forehead and carefully pulled away his arm and body from the boy, careful not to wake him then headed for the door to the living room.

"JARVIS call up Pepper." It's just way past 10. Pepper should still be up by now. After a few rings Pepper showed up on the hologram of the screen.

"Hey, Pep"

"Tony, you look exhausted. How's Peter doing? How is it?"

Sighing he answered, "Peter doesn't deserve this Pepper. He's too young to feel this grief and loss, with not just one but two set of Parents!"

Tony put his hands into his face and faced Pepper again "I've never thought I'll be able to clean up a child in the bathroom Pep, can you imagine me doing that? There's not a single ounce of trait that child got from me. I tell you. When are you coming here?"

Pepper secretly smiled, she knew something changed from Tony. Just by the way he speaks for the child. "I'll be there tomorrow first light. I've already set up the funeral tomorrow afternoon keeping only close friends of the Parkers, the tailor's also going to be there for you and Peter's suit adjustments; they can easily adjust it for the both of you the same day if there's any. The things from the Parker's apartment have already been transferred to your Malibu house and Peter's room will be decorated tomorrow. Do you know what design he'd like?"

There's a Star Wars lego set in the bags in the corner where Peter looked so he guessed, "Uh no, not yet. Maybe Star Wars? Not sure Pep. Maybe that. If he doesn't like it we can redesign afterwards, for now let's make it look cozy and befitting for a four years old."

"Ok. We can take care of that." jotting down notes on her pad.

"Thanks Pepper. What would I do without you." Tony smiled. Every day it seems like he's growing more grateful and fond that this woman is in his life.

"Oh you don't. See you tomorrow Tony." With that the call ended. And Tony returned to the bedroom staring at his son for a few minutes before fixing himself up and going to bed right next to him.

* * *

Author's Note:

Okay this is a long chapter. Normally, I dread reading long chaps but I want to go into detail when it comes to Peter and Tony together. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

Pepper came at the hotel past 9 in the morning after. She has a spare key of Tony's hotel room so she graced herself in quietly since the father and son might still be sleeping.

"Tony..." she called but stopped short at the door of the bedroom. What she saw is a sight that can warm even the coldest of hearts, Tony's arm protectively around Peter's side while Peter's hugging his father, his face into Tony's chest.

Without a second thought, Pepper immediately opened her phone camera and captured the candid shot. She looked at Peter for a moment, Tony's right, Peter still looks like a baby. A cute baby in fact. She can't imagine the pain the child must be feeling. She went to Peter's side and caressed the boy's curls. The father and son looks so peaceful sleeping that she's mentally taking a picture of it to remember forever. She called room service afterwards to order breakfast so when they woke up, food's already served. She then headed to the window to pull the curtains for the lights to get through. Tony's eyes opened as the light peaked through; Peter's also waking up and moving.

"Rise and shine boys. We have a day ahead of us." she said to them as she head out to the living room.

"Oh Pep, you're here, good, when did you arrive?" Tony went to the bathroom then came back soon afterwards. Peter's sitting in the bed still half asleep.

"Just half an hour ago. Don't worry about it."

"Peter, are you awake? Do you still want to sleep?" but Peter's already crawling to get down to the bed and headed to the bathroom.

"I already ordered breakfast Tony. Continental, is there anything else you'd like to add?"

"Add some grape juice for Peter and a mimosa for me."

"Uh uh no Tony, no alcoholic drinks for today, not if I'm here." Tony groaned.

"Pep, it's just like orange juice."

"That's a NO, Tony."

Pepper was about to call room service when Peter walked up into the room.

"Peter, this is Pepper, she's my secretary." Tony introduced and Pepper kneeled down in front of Peter and looked at him with gentle eyes. "Hi Peter, you can call me Pepper, it's nice to finally meet you baby." and she hugged him.

"Nice to meet you too Pepper." Peter said smiling still half asleep with his curly hair all over the places. Peter's hands went up to her face and cupped it.

The doorbell ringed that slightly startled the three of them. "I'll get that" said Tony and ushered the room service in with their breakfast in tow. He then asked for a grape juice then tipped the bellboy generously afterwards.

Tony carried Peter into his baby chair so they can start eating. There was a set of toast, Sunnyside up and scrambled eggs, ham, bacon, salad, and waffles in front of them.

They started eating and Tony noticed Peter's barely eating his plate full of food.

"What's wrong bud, you don't like Toast?"

"I don't want Toast."

"You don't want Toast. What do you want?"

"I want bwead." Tony laughed a little by the silliness of Peter and just the way he said it. The kid might still be half-asleep. Pepper laughed as well.

"Can you not just eat you toast? Or we have waffles here? Let's get you some"

"No..."

"Why?"

"Cause I'm too sad" Peter said it with silliness but Tony and Pepper looked at each other at the same time. They know it means more than that.

"It's just Toast Pete, it's not the end of the world."

"It is." mumbled by the boy looking at his pajamas now.

"Peter, look at me baby. It's not the end of the world. Okay? I'm right here, I won't let anything bad happen to you" Tony said as he convinced his son. "Let's eat even just a little bit, alright?"

"Mmm okay." Tony cut up the waffles with syrup and blueberries then feed it to Peter's.

After a few bites, they heard a click from a phone camera, and when they turned to Pepper, they saw her grinning.

"You two are so adorable Tony, Oh Rhodey's not gonna believe this."

"Yeah Yeah. How long have you been doing that?" He shot a disbelieving look at Pepper who only laughed. Deep inside he thought he can't believe it at himself either.

Happy came in afterwards with the tailor from Tom Ford. They took in the measurements which roughly lasted for just about fifteen minutes, saying the suit will be delivered in the afternoon.

"Mr. Stark, is the suit for the funeral?" asked Peter looking up at Tony. Tony doesn't know how to open up the topic to Peter that his aunt and uncle's funeral will be later that day. He didn't even know if the kid knows what a funeral is.

"Do you know what a funeral is, Pete?"

Peter nodded. "Me, aunt, and uncle have been when Mom and Dad died."

Tony put Peter on his lap as they sat.

"It's this afternoon, are you okay with us going there?" Peter nodded but then his eyes glossed and are now fighting back the tears to flow. He knows the child is fighting hard to be strong.

"It's okay, bud. It's okay to let it out. I'm here." hearing Tony's soothing voice, Peter cried once again for the loss of his guardians. While Tony, rubs his back, sniffed his hair, and kissed the top of his forehead. A few minutes after crying, Peter relaxes at Tony's chest and closed his eyes as he takes a nap.

"Tony, pictures of you and Peter have already circulated the Internet." Pepper sat by his side and also showed a newspaper with a picture of him carrying a child in the headline. Tony cursed under his breath. How did they manage to get a picture so quickly in the lobby?

"Shit. Headline on tabloids? Really?" Why do people like to meddle in other people's private lives?

"Tony, you're more than just a celebrity now, you know that right? You're basically an icon with tons of magazine covers as the genius and CEO of a billion dollar company."

"Well, yeah I know that but this is different, my son is already involved."

"Exactly. So, how do you want to play this? Do you want to set up a press release, press conference?"

"Just press release, maybe the day after tomorrow when we head back to California. Make it as short and concise as possible."

"Copy that. I'm gonna go back later tonight to California Tony, after the funeral. I left so much meetings and work to do.

"Thanks for saving my ass once again Pepper. Tomorrow morning we'll head back, pretty sure Pete's going to be tired and exhausted later."

Pepper made some calls, while Tony continued to sit on the sofa still holding Peter sleeping soundly on his chest. He decided to turn on the TV for a white noise, ideas forming in his head for the next project for Stark Industries, taking note of it on his phone. Peter woke up an hour later and they prepared to go to the funeral.

"Mr. Stark..." Peter muttered as Tony's fixing Peter's bow-tie. Tony stared at him; he still cannot believe this child came from him.

"You can call me Tony, buddy. You don't have to be so formal now."

"But my auntie said to always use Mister or Missus or Miss or Sir when respecting elders."

"That's right kid always remember that, but you know this is me right. You know that you're still respecting me when you call me by my first name. It's okay."

"Mmm okay Mr... T-tony."

"Good. Now what are you trying to ask me?"

"Where are going to stay after this? What will happen to Auntie and Uncle's apartment?"

"We're going to my house in Malibu cause that's where I live. The things from your Auntie and Uncle's house are already transferred there. The apartment is vacant for now until it found its new owners. Is that ok with you? Do you want to visit the apartment?"

"Mmm.. No, it's okay. I'll just miss Ned. He's my friend."

"Ned can visit you in Malibu, Pete. I can arrange that, and we can come here in New York whenever you like."

"Thank you, Mr. Stark.. oops.. Tony." Peter opened his arms and hugged him and hugged back as well. "It's no problem. You always tell me if there's something you want to ask. Okay? No need to hesitate." "Okay."

The ride to the church was short. The church was filled with Ben and May's coworkers and neighbors and they greeted Tony earnestly, mostly advising to take such good care of Peter as he was such a precious kid which Tony can agree to definitely. Ned was also there with his parents, who came and consoled Peter. When it was time to see Ben and May's casket, Tony carried Peter in his arms. He asked twice and made sure if Peter wants to see the open casket and the kid willingly said yes. When they went and look, Peter brushed his hand on the each casket then cried, the grief and pain sinking in and the reality that his parents and guardians are already gone. He cried in Tony's chest and shoulders the whole time and he held the boy until the cemetery. His heart also clenching by the sight of the kid crying. He is pained that the kid feels pain.

When they are the only one's left, Peter started talking to their graves.

"Mom, Dad, Uncle, Auntie..." Peter said in a small cracked voice as he stands. Tony's kneels next to him, hands in Peter's shoulders. "I won't forget you." his hands brushing away the tears. "I'll miss you, but don't worry up there, okay? I'll be fine, Mr. Stark's..." Peter looked at Tony. "Daddy's going to take care of me, he said. and I believe him. We're going to Malibu tomorrow to live there but I'll still visit here."

Tears started falling endlessly, and with one last cry, he said "I love you" to his parents and guardians. He laid down pure white roses for each, and Peter said his last goodbye.

They're in the jet on their way now back to Malibu. Before they head off, Tony and Peter went to Queens to say goodbye to the Leeds, his friend Ned. The happenings of yesterday's events still haunts Tony's mind. How he wished he could just wipe away the pain and sadness Peter had, but the only thing he could do is be there for his kid. Be his support and protect him from any kind of pain and hurt to come. But Tony knows, that can never be done. To live in this world is also to live in a world of pain. One can only endure and in the process and you get stronger. and he knows Peter's going to get through it all, he's his kid after all.

Peter's pretty much asleep the entire ride and only woke up where they're about to touchdown. After they landed, Tony hopped on his white Audi Spyder waiting at the tarmac, and helped Peter on his seat-belt at the passenger seat next to him.

"Alright kid, Ready to go?"

"Your car's so cool Daddy!" Peter exclaimed. Tony caught glimpse of the awe in the child's eyes when he saw the car earlier. Tony grinned through his red sunnies and started driving.

"Yeah it is. Wait till you see the rest in the house."

"So where are we going?"

"You'll see."

"WOW..." Peter stared into the vast blue ocean, appreciating the scenery he's been seeing, the fresh wind sweeping across their faces. "This is my first time here Daddy. Does it snow here?"

"No Pete, just cold weather when it's winter. but No, it never snows."

"That's cool. Auntie always slips up on the ground when snow turned into ice in New York, she said she's so sick of it. She would have loved being here." Peter laughed, at least he's not crying anymore so that's good. Certainly Peter knows how to handle grief and pain more than he is at such a young age. When his parents died, he was so devastated that his mother is gone. He tried to drown his feelings through alcohol that just slowly wrecked him, didn't eat properly for weeks, and was always at parties wasted. Occasionally there's Rhodes to help him sober up.

They parked in a parking lot of an In and Out burger joint since it has no drive thru. "C'mon Pete. I know you're already hungry." They hopped out of the car and hold each other hands as they walked through the entrance.

"Are we going to eat inside Dad?"

"Nope, we're gonna order for takeout and eat it in the car. Eating in this open crowd is troublesome." Some people recognized Tony but didn't bother anyway while some took photos once again. Malibu is basically a whirlpool of celeb and famous people so some ordinary people are used to just respecting privacy but others can't.

They ordered 3 cheeseburgers and fries for takeout then headed to the car and Tony drove with one hand and food at the other.

"I like this cheeseburger Dad." Peter said after a bite halfway finished then munched on some fries.

"I like it too bud."

"I like pizza and meatball sandwich too from Mr. Delmar's in Queens, but aunt and uncle rarely buy me some, they said it's too oily and fatty for a growing boy like me..." Just then a ketchup greased the side of Peter's mouth and Tony wiped it clean with a tissue. "...they always tell me to eat vegetables, even if I don't like it, but I still eat it though cause it's in my plate."

I didn't get to say goodbye to Mr. Delmar Dad, I forgot."

"Yeah? that's okay, I think Mr. Delmar understands Pete, don't worry about it. We can drop by Mr. Delmar's anytime when we come back to New York." Tony pats and ruffled Peter's hair.

Peter gazed at the wild palm trees as they neared the house, car circling in the front door. "Wooowww... Dad this is your house?" Peter's eyes widened and mouth hanged open at the sight of the big and luxurious white mansion at the edge of the cliff with the vast bright blue ocean in full panoramic view.

"This is OUR house now Pete, it's also already YOUR house, capiche?"

Peter smiled "Capiche!"

They entered inside and Peter ran fast at the glass window that has a panoramic view of the ocean. The view relaxes him.

"Good Afternoon, Sir. Welcome back."

"Who's that?" Peter turned confused as he looks for another person that might be in the house too.

"Nice to be back JARVIS."

"JARVIS meet _my son_, Peter."

"Peter, JARVIS"

"It's nice to meet you, young master Peter. I'm glad to be of service."

"He's our AI Pete, Artificial Intelligence. Basically, my virtual assistant and security."

Peter looks up "Hi, JARVIS, nice to meet you too." Just then Peter noticed the swimming pool. "and you have a pool too! Wow!"

"That's "we" now, Pete."

"Do I have a room?"

"What? Of course you have bud, come I'll show you." They went upstairs and headed to Peter's room just right across Tony's and he opened the door.

The bedroom came into view with a modern Star Wars and Outer Space design, colors of dark blue, white, and dark red silhouettes that match; Coordinated with StarWars posters and modern-art paintings, Star Wars sheets, a wall that looks like a blackboard, and a sofa at the side of the room. The ceiling has tiny little bright lights or stars that glows in the dark so it looks like space at night. There's also a bathroom connected to a closet. "Whoa... Dad, how did you know I liked Star Wars?"

"Just a lucky guess. Like it?" and Pepper really has outdone this bedroom." Peter's old things from the apartment are also neatly placed in the new room and there's a new set of clothes and shoes. There are different kinds of toys and Lego boxes too.

"Like it?! I LOVE IT!" Peter said as he run back to Tony and hugged him, "Thank you Dad." Tony sniffing his baby scented hair and gently laying a kiss on his forehead. "No need to thank me bud, this is all yours."

Later that day, after touring Peter into the house, Tony went into his lab to get started finalizing his ideas for the new weapons for his company. While Peter started building with his AT-AP Walker Star Wars Lego set on the couch and sofa at the far end of the lab.

Tony ordered Chinese for dinner and while they were eating, Peter noticed a chess board laying on top of the wooden glossed table at the living room.

"What's that thing called, Dad?"

"It's a chess board Pete. A mind game."

"How do you play it?"

They went to the living room with their food and sat opposite each other and Tony started with the basics. "Here laid out are black and white pieces. We alternate making moves and white always goes first. There are different kinds of pieces, each moves a specific way..." As Tony gestured and explained how each piece move, up to the special rules of the game, Peter listened intently and quickly grasped how the game works. Next thing he knew they were already playing the game of Chess.

"No fair Dad, why do you always win?" Peter groaned as the third time they played, he lost.

"Cheer up kiddo, I've had years of practice playing this, and you only learned two hours ago and you're almost at par with me" Tony was really amazed on how quickly his son learned things normal kids wouldn't.

"I'd say that's a feat, and remember mistakes make a man wiser, or at least that's what they say." Tony ruffled his hair and smiled. "Alright. Let's go, time for bed."

After cleaning up, Tony tucked Peter to bed. "Pete, does your aunt read you a bedtime story? Do you want me too?" Peter looked at the books in his bedroom and searched for something he liked. "Yeah, they mostly read me basic sciences Dad, from science book for kids, instead of children's stories, I also like listening to norse mythology."

"And you know how to read and write already?"

Peter nodded and went back to his lap with a book. "Mom taught me when I was three."

Well then his child's a genius after-all, a boy genius! Tony couldn't be more surprised. Peter opened a Physics book for kids complete with pictures of examples and Tony explained the concepts to him. After an hour of informative reading, Peter managed to say "_I love you, Daddy_" before he finally nodded off into sleep at Tony's chest. Tony kissed the top of his forehead and sniffed the baby scent out of his hair. "_I love you too Pete_" Gently laying down the kid to the bed, staring at his little one a few minutes before he walked out the door and go to his lab once again.


	4. Chapter 4

After a week, Tony decided to enroll Peter to a Pre-kindergarten just near their home. He established that since his kid is also a genius, that's a reason to nurture his gift even more. The more advanced the better. He also hired a nanny for Peter and is only there when he was away on meetings and overseas for work projects and conferences. He wanted to be a hands-on father as much as possible but since he's the owner and now CEO of his company, it can't be helped. Not all of his work can be handled by Pepper and Obadiah. He also hired a Chef that cook in the mornings for three meals every day, Pepper insisted this, cause the kid won't grow on takeout's and cereals alone.

A press release was also launched to the media that Tony Stark has a son and gave only basic information about Peter. He asked the press to give their family complete privacy of their private and personal lives. And just like that, the whole world knows, Tony has an heir to the Throne.

"Good Morning, young master Peter." said JARVIS in an enthusiastic and respectable British tone. Peter usually woke up by 6:30 to 7 everyday. It has already been seven months since Peter moved in with his Father and everything has been smooth sailing ever since.

They developed a routine where Peter goes to school in the mornings and only have half-day classes. In the afternoon, a piano teacher comes once a week to teach Peter piano. Tony found Peter one day sitting and playing his Mother's piano in unrecognizable notes. So he figured he'll teach him the basics.

"You know bud, your grandmother would've loved to see you play." Tony said with melancholic eyes.

"This is her Piano right? I wish I could've met her."

"Yeah, she's very patient with teaching me back then. Very motherly. I'm sure she'll be ecstatic and proud to see you easily learning this."

Peter cupped Tony face then hugged him afterwards. "I'm sure she'll be proud of you too, Dad."

A gymnastics teacher goes twice a week since Peter has been agile and light-footed since Tony met him, and a martial arts teacher also goes twice a week. Happy teaches him self-defense along with Tony. He figured since the public already knows his son, in case he's not there to protect him he wants to make sure that his son can protect himself. While during the weekends, Peter spends all of his time with his father on his lab watching him work.

"Good Morning JARVIS, where's Dad?"

"He's downstairs Peter, already waiting for you for breakfast."

"Thanks, JARVIS."

Peter remembered his father saying "If you have any questions, or if you want something and you can't find me in the house, you can ask JARVIS okay? He knows."

He headed downstairs wearing a color red and gold silk pajamas and he saw his Father sipping a cup of coffee sitting at the dining room. It's a bright sunny morning, the sun hitting the bright ocean in view.

"Good Morning Daddy!" beamed Peter with a smile and jumped on to Tony's lap and gave him a small hug and kiss on the cheek and Tony kissed him on the forehead.

"Good Morning Petey-pie."

Laid on the breakfast table are croissants, egg breakfast muffins, peanut butter waffles, quinoa and chia porridge. Just then the chef arrived to bring in scrambled and sunnyside up eggs and toast.

"Good morning chef Paul." greeted Peter.

"Good morning to you too Peter."

"Breakfast is already complete and served Mr. Stark. Bon appétit."

"Très bien. Merci chef." Tony smiled and Chef Paul nodded and headed back to the kitchen as they started eating.

"You can speak French Dad?"

"Yeah, i didn't mention it. did I? Started learning at an early age. Maybe we should teach you too."

"What languages do you speak? Are you fluent in them?"

"Let's see, hmm. There's French, Japanese, and Russian, basic Italian and some Arabic."

"WOW… That's so cool!" Peter literally had his mouth opened in awe. His Dad's really a genius, he can do anything! "You really are the best Dad! That's so many!"

Tony just smiled and ruffled his hair, "So what do want to do today bud? It's the weekend and I want to spend time with you before I head out later. Mrs. Eleanor will be here to keep an eye on you."

"Huh? Why? Where are you going?"

"There's an award ceremony again tonight and I have work to do tomorrow in DC."

Peter's face fell "Can you not go? It's your birthday's tomorrow; I want to spend time with you."

"I'll try to head back tomorrow as fast as I can Pete, I tried to dodge this one but Pepper insisted and you know sometimes she scares me. Evidently, she said, I've missed more award ceremonies and meetings in the past that can't excuse me no more."

Cheer up bud, you've got me till 4pm. That's plenty of time." Tony winked and patted Peter's shoulders.

Peter and Tony made use of their time in the morning by updating Dum-E. The robot has been with Tony since he first created it in his father's workshop. Every once in a while he updates the robot as his assistant in doing small chores, mostly cleaning up the lab. While they tinker, they listened to "Sugar We're Goin Down" by Fall Out Boy where Tony danced head-banging shacking his shoulders and hips, Peter also followed suit afterwards like they were in a rock band and laughing afterwards.

"Pete, let's go swimming later. What'd you think?" Tony said stretching as he felt his muscles tensed from working and meetings the week before. Going swimming might relax him a bit.

"Can you teach me Dad? Um, I don't know how." Peter asked embarrassed.

"Yeah bud, Of course!" Tony said sliding his arm to Peter's shoulders as they go upstairs to eat lunch.

After having some rest, they went to the pool overlooking the ocean. Peter's wearing arm floaters so he can stay afloat on the water. "Okay bud, first, when swimming you relax okay? Don't let the water scare you. You control the water." Tony said as he carries Peter in his arms and dipped in the pool.

To keep your head floating, you tread the water, flutter kick your feet circular back and forth like this while moving your arms horizontally at the same time, capiche?"

Peter nodded, eyes with determination. "Capiche!"

"Okay, you try, I'll get over there and you come to me okay?"

"Okay Daddy."

Slowly Tony kept a distance and let his son do it on his own. Peter did what he told and struggled at first to reach him but eventually crossed the distance between them. Tony laughed as Peter reached his arm and Peter giggled triumphantly.

"Good job buddy!"

Now you want to try without the arm floaties?" Peter gulped, "Okay." Tony removed the arm floaters then let go of Peter, going at a far end of the pool.

Peter struggled to swim to him still smiling and doing all the things his father said but slowly panicking, when he thought he's about to give up, in a small voice he called "Daddy, help, help Peter."

Tony snorted and laughed inside his head by the way Peter said his name in the third person and with such cuteness in his voice. Tony got nearer reaching his arms "Okay bud, you can do it, come on let's go." Peter's head is still floating from the water so he's not worried he's going to drown. "You can do it, sweetheart."

Daddy laughed and with a more encouraging tone he said "C'mon, you can do it!"

Just an inch between them and finally Tony held his son close in his arms. "Alright! You did it buddy! You did it! Good job!" Tony kissed his forehead and Peter finally laughed and giggled.

After mastering floating in the water, Tony then taught his son how to do freestyle and backstroke and even butterfly. They clean up after themselves afterwards after two hours in the pool.

"Thanks for today Daddy." Peter said sitting on his lap and as his head laid down Tony's chest. The sound of his Daddy's hearbeat relaxing him. They are on the sofa on the living room just watching the TV.

"Always no problem, you enjoyed today huh?" Tony said smiling as he plant a kiss on his son's forehead and smelled his hair – the baby scent relaxing his senses.

Peter then looked at him and said "I did! I know now how to swim!"

"You did a good job there bud, you take care till tomorrow okay?

"I'm gonna miss you Dad. Can I come with you instead?"

"I wish you could Petey but I'm afraid children are not supposed to be there."

"Hmm. Take care also daddy okay?

"Sure bud."

Peter slowly drifted off to sleep as his Daddy kissed Peter's forehead once again and bid him goodbye. Mrs. Eleanor came after and Tony took off.

It was already dark when Peter woke-up on the sofa. He immediately saw Mrs. Eleanor sitting at a couch near him making a crochet while the TV was humming on a low volume creating white noise. He misses his Daddy already.

"Hi Mrs. Eleanor."

"Hi Peter, how was your sleep honey?"

"It was okay." He sits up on the sofa and stared into the TV.

"Are you okay Peter?"

"Yeah. I just miss my Dad"

"Oh your dad's going to be fine, honey. C'mon, let's get you some stuff to fill that tummy."

Peter was at the middle of his dinner when they heard the front door opened and footsteps coming in. Peter got scared for a second but when he saw a familiar figure he relaxed.

"Uncle James!" Peter run up to Rhodey and carried him up "Hey champ! How are you? Wow, you're getting heavier now." Peter met his Uncle James a week after they came to Malibu. Rhodes visited to check up on Tony and meet Peter. He gave Peter a vintage Nintendo Classic as a welcoming gift since Tony mentioned Peter's a geeky kid. The rest of the day, they spent quality time together playing the game and watching Movies.

"You're here!" and Pepper!" Rhodey put him down then Peter hugged Pepper.

"What are you both doing here?" Peter asked amused, it's been a long time since he had seen his Daddy's bestfriend while he just saw Pepper last week.

"We want to see you baby." Pepper pinched Peter's nose.

"And we have a birthday party to plan for tomorrow." Rhodey said and winked at him.

* * *

Tony went to an award ceremony hosted by Forbes Magazine awarding his company for being once again the most advanced and number one company in the world. Different kinds of people he doesn't know giving him birthday greetings. Afterwards, he prepared a presentation of his new weapons to the big guys in the military which really isn't Disneyland. All throughout, he can only think about is how he misses his son and now he's celebrating his birthday without him. Even Pepper's not even here, the only consolation is that at least Happy's here. He headed back on the jet immediately after a long day and managed to get some sleep before landing. Peter must already been sleeping now and it's school day tomorrow so he better should be.

The lights are out and he had a hunch that there might be a surprise behind the door but then once he entered the sudden POP of the confetti made his body flinched and almost made his heart jump from his chest.

"OH SHIT.. Fuckin. JEEZ!" Tony said his hands to his chest then started laughing. "You're gonna give me a heart attack!" He was welcomed with Pepper and Rhodey laughing and hugging him with a happy birthday, then a beautiful boy came into view running towards him "Daddy!" with open arms he hugged the little boy and carried him "Happy Birthday Daddy!"

The house was filled with balloons with pictures hanging on its loose ends, pictures of Tony smiling with his friends and family, and most especially Peter. While a candlelit dinner is set in a gorgeous table setting for five people. They went there and Pepper held the birthday cake in front of him while all of them including Happy started singing the Happy Birthday song.

"Happy Birthday, happy birthday, Happy Birthday Tony/Daddy!" Tony closed his eyes, made a wish, and together with Peter blow out the candles. A tear already formed in Tony's eyes which he brushed away.

"Thank you, Wow! for all this, well I had a feeling, but I was still pretty much shocked back there!" and laughter was heard across the room. "Thank you guys for being here and making this more special when it is really indeed special because I have this boy with me." Thank you kid." Tony kissed Peter's forehead. It's his first birthday celebrating with his son and the surprise gesture just made his heart swell with happiness.

They had dinner after and Peter's gift to his father is playing a piano piece in front of them. He started playing "The Entertainer" that made his Dad smile very proudly; his son already plays like an expert when he just barely started six months ago!

After playing the piece, Peter ran back to him and hugged him, him pressing his nose into Peter's hair. "I hope you liked it Dad."

"Oh you don't know how proud I am of you Pete."

Pepper's gift is a video montage of Tony and Peter, and it played on the hologram screen in front of them. Short messages greetings from all of them and everyone close to him played then videos of him and Peter started playing with beautiful transitions and a background music of "Rubik's Cube" by Athlete, it was the video of the first night he got Peter hugging him while they sleep, when he was feeding him waffles, when he was teaching Peter piano, when they were in the boxing room with Happy playing and teaching the kid self-defense, when they're eating breakfast outside the terrace, on the living room with Rhodey watching movies, Tony, Peter and Pepper laughing while eating ice-cream on the kitchen stand, when he was teaching Peter how to swim, and more videos of Peter sleeping on Tony's chest with Peter saying "I love you Daddy" at the end.

The video was so genuine, Tony was shedding up little tears when the video ended. There are no words; the video is filled with emotions. He stood, hugged and thanked Pepper immediately afterwards.

* * *

"How did all of you managed to do all that Pete?" asked Tony while he tucks Peter to bed.

"Pepper and Uncle James came yesterday and we planned it out Dad. Happy's with us through video call. It's mostly Pepper who prepared everything, she's amazing Dad. I also didn't know about the video."

"Yeah, she is kid. She certainly is." Tony just grows more grateful for Pepper each day. That woman is just something out of this world.

Peter was so excited the whole time imagining what his Father's reaction might be, and truly it exceeded his expectations. His Dad's so happy he even cried, Peter hugged his father so tight he didn't want the day to end but soon after slipping into sleep. Tony sniffs his baby powder scented hair and let himself relax off to sleep, what he wished are more happy days and memories like this with his loved ones and most importantly his son by his side.

* * *

**_Author's Note:_**

A chapter full of fluff yup. LOL I hope you guys like it as much as I do. This is my first time writing a story chap by chap so feedback is very much appreciated. Thank you to everyone who reads, favorites, follows, and reviews this story.


	5. Chapter 5

For Peter's 5th Birthday, they decided to go to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park. Although Peter was a big fan of Star Wars and Star Trek, he also likes watching Disney Pixar movies. When he asked his son what'd he like for his upcoming birthday, his son just thoughtfully answered "I just want to spend time with you Daddy, and I want to meet Buzz Light Year."

Daddy invited Ned and his parents to come and celebrate with them. Tony flew the jet from NYC to CA and have Happy picked them up.

"Ned! You're here!" shouted Peter when the Leeds arrived at the house. He hurriedly hugged his bestfriend.

Ned stared mouth agape into the big mansion. "Dude your house is so big! and, and Tony Stark's your Dad! That's so cool!"

"Thank you for inviting us here, Mr. Stark. Ned was always so excited to come and visit Peter." Mr. and Mrs. Leeds said as they shake hands with Tony.

"It's no problem. My son just misses your son a lot. Thought this is the perfect time for them to catch-up."

His Dad welcomed Ned's parents and off they went.

The two bestfriends went into different rides, while Tony sometimes rides with them. Most of the time he has no choice but to listen to Ned's Dad as he tells tales about his work no matter how boring it is, apparently Ned's dad is a museum curator. The only consolation from the dreadful wait is that he can see how happy his child is after every ride. They're also accompanied by a few bodyguards led by Happy. As they watched the Parade, Peter sitted on top of Tony's shoulders, his hands to his Daddy's head. They were wearing Monsters Inc. hats while eating ice cream.

When they got home, there's a simple birthday dinner waiting for them and Peter blew the candle of his cake after making a wish. His daddy gave him a bike as a gift which made Peter so excited to learn. They went to the terrace after to watch the fireworks display, carrying Peter in his arms, head against each other, sparkle and joy evident in their eyes as they watched and cape off the evening. The Leeds stayed with them for another day, Peter and Ned just spend it off all day by building lego sets, watching movies, and playing more toys in his bedroom. Peter promised to visit New York in Spring and said their goodbyes.

* * *

Tony started teaching Peter how to ride a bike on a cloudy afternoon after weeks of long meetings after Peter's birthday. They were in the large garden of the house surrounded by Palm trees. The whole facade really looks like a villa. Peter wore a helmet and sit at the bike that matches with Peter's height, with red, black and blue colors.

His daddy guided him first as he pedaled teaching him how to perfectly balance, and once he got the hang of it, Daddy slowly let him go to bike on his own.

"Alright. Yes! You got it buddy! You got it!" Tony shouted as Peter managed to bike slowly on his own. "Be careful!"

Peter goes a little farther and pedaled faster, and when he's about to turn sideways he started to lose balance and quickly landed on the floor with a loud thud.

"OH God! SHIT! Peter!" Tony shouted as he sprinted fast to help his son. His stomach started to turn and his chest tightened with alarming nervousness. Shit, this is my fault. Why did I let him go easily?

His son started to stand up just as soon as he reached him.

"Peter! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" His daddy started to check his body and hugged him. Dad found a small scratch at his arm.

"I'm okay Dad, hurts a little here." in which he gestured the arm.

"Oh God. You scared me bud! Okay let's get that cleaned out." Dad carried Peter in his arms and they went inside for the medicine kit.

They sat at the sofa and Tony started to clean the scratch with a Betadine.

"I'm sorry, Daddy." Peter said with eyes half-pleading or Tony would like to call puppy dog eyes.

"Why are you apologizing buddy? It's nobody's fault." If there's one thing it is my fault, Tony thought. I shouldn't have let go too easily.

"I thought it's already easy when I went fast, the wind feels so refreshing, then I can't control it anymore."

"I know bud. That happens when you go ahead of things you're still beginning to learn. So be careful next time okay?"

"Can I still try again today? It doesn't hurt that much."

Tony was hesitant for a second but gave in. Who could resist those eyes? I couldn't. Straight roads doesn't make good drivers anyway.

"Ok. Yeah. but you gotta be really really careful okay? Go slow for today."

"Thanks Dad." Peter stands up and hugged his Dad. After he put the Band-Aid on they went outside again to practice.

* * *

The months passed by quickly and Peter is already in the first grade. By then he already started learning French, Spanish, and Japanese and can already speak and write those languages in intermediate level. Every night Tony still reads to him and explains basic concepts of Chemistry and Physics as a bedtime story. It is evident from everyone that something in Tony changed since he had Peter in his care. He's become fatherly, they said. Protective and Affectionate. His habits may have changed slightly, instead of drinking alcohol on a daily basis, he only drinks occasionally during parties and events. The only downside is he's still pretty reckless and a playboy having a woman at times that he can't remember the next morning. Peter was puzzled one morning when he saw a glimpse of a woman that came downstairs and hurriedly got out of the house when he's about to go to school.

"Who's that Dad? Why is she on a hurry?"

"Oh she's no one Pete. She just picked up - something."

Peter knew better, his Dad's bluffing. He decided to just leave it off anyway. Uncle James said Dad's already an adult and he knows what he's doing. Peter also believes his Dad is a responsible adult, and he loves his Dad very much no matter what the others say about him. He came to read an article once that says "Tony Stark: Da Vinci of the 21st Century" but then there's also "Merchant of Death". He asked JARVIS about "Da Vinci" to which he answered "DaVinci is famous because of his Paintings, Art, and contributions to Science, crossing many disciplines that made him a True Genius of his time." That's funny, his Dad's a genius but he's not a painter. As per Merchant of Death, he has no idea, his Dad's a visionary and an American Patriot whose advocacy is for Peace so that really doesn't make any sense.

* * *

When Spring came they went to Queens, New York. They visited Ned and went by to order at Delmar's Deli.

"Hi Mr. Delmar." Peter said as he got some gummy worms and gummy bears.

"Hey little Mr. Stark. It's a long time since I've seen you here. How are ya? and also Mr. Tony Stark, Wow, it's nice to finally meet you in the flesh." Mr. Delmar said astounded to meet the great Tony Stark and motioned for a handshake which Tony gladly accepted.

"Nice to meet you as well Mr. Delmar. I heard from this one right here you have the best sandwich in Queens. Is that right?" Tony patted Peter's shoulders.

"Yes yes we are. So what can we get you?"

"I'll have a meatball sandwich Mr. Delmar" said Peter then went to pat the cat. "Hey Murph! hey buddy."

"and for you Mr. Stark?"

"Hmmm... I'll have the Pastrami Sandwich. Smush it down real flat for both of us."

"You got that boss."

Tony paid the bill and by then Peter already went back to them "Hey kid, how's school? How's California?"

"School's boring, but back home's always fun with Dad around."

Their order arrived and was already prepared.

"Good to hear kid and stay in school alright? I hope we can see more of you here."

"We'll visit as much as we can, Mr. Delmar." Tony assured, "Right, Pete?"

"Right, thanks for the incredible sandwich Mr. Delmar! Bye!"

They then went to the cemetery to visit his Parents, Auntie and Uncle.

* * *

On his Dad's birthday, they went to Paris for an event since he's getting another WIRED Engineering Innovation Award and his Dad's on the cover of the magazine. They spent three days after the event being tourists going to different touristy sights. Peter also got to practice his skills and spoke french to everyone including his father. They had a lot of cute pictures - grinning and some wacky shots while making a peace sign at the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, Arc de Triumph. They also went to The Louvre where they saw thousands of paintings and artifacts.

While gazing at the Mona Lisa, Peter said "You know Dad, I saw in an article... they said you're the Da Vinci of our time."

"What? That's ridiculous. I'm not a Painter."

"Exactly! that's what I thought too dad. That's crazy! I'd say you're better than him."

"Great minds think alike, and you're better than me Pete." Tony then wrapped his side arm on Peter's shoulders and tapped it.

Peter celebrated his 6th birthday at Japan. Tony wants Peter to experience Japan's culture, and new experiences give the mind a reboot he believes, like a new perspective. They went to Osaka's food street the first day and went to different stalls eating sushi, yakiniku, wagyu beef, ramen, and Japanese curry. So far, Peter has loved Japanese cuisine at first bite and it was indeed delicious while Tony had instantly loved it years ago when he first tasted it. He had gone and visited almost around the world already which are mostly business trips but still enjoyed all of it, and maybe because half of it, booze was involved. They spent his birthday at Nara Deer Park where people can interact with roaming Deers everywhere. Peter literally jumped for joy because everywhere you look there's literally a deer you can find.

"Wow! Dad look! They're so cute!" said Peter as a herd of baby deer came to him. He tried to pet each one of them and feed those crackers.

"Oh Dear." One deer jumped to Tony as he's also holding one of the crackers. He then feed them and continued taking lots of pictures of Peter and then they had a picture together. Tony stared lovingly at his son and just adored how his son's face light up for animals and science, when he watches his favourite geeky movies, when he plays his Lego's and toys, how he's so good to those around him. Peter's such a good kid; he's kind, loving, adorably innocent, and smart. He's the best thing about me. He deserves the best in this world.

* * *

A year has quickly passed since then and Peter's already seven years old. He still spent most of his time after school with his Dad on the lab and garage, watching his Dad design new tech and engineer his motors and cars. Among the other disciplines, Peter has a peculiarly strong interest in Chemistry, so he usually engage on chemistry projects, his newest idea for his science fair project- a glue that can patch up a wound. For the past year his Dad's been working on a technology for his new missile system that incorporates their Repulsor tech and has already launched the Arc Reactor that powers his factory on company grounds.

Peter one day went with Tony at work and had a tour around Stark Industries. He also got to see his Dad's large office. There were picture frames of Peter on his desk and them together, the most precious ones, Peter on his chest and one of their trips abroad.

"Dad what does your company do?" Peter asked as they were walking around the hall overseeing the Manufacturing Division through a glass window.

"We create Advanced Weapons and Machinery, Pete. As you can see there. We're also advancing Satellite Targeting."

"But isn't that bad? The weapons? They could kill people."

His dad patted his hair, "It's not if it's used in the right purposes. These weapons are used only for defenses Peter, used by the military to keep us safe. To keep World Peace, and it's my advocacy to protect it, because you're in it, you know that right?"

"Right." and he hugged his Dad's hips. Peter's still a small boy but he's growing pretty fast.

By then Obidiah saw them and walked into their direction.

"Uncle Obi!" Peter said when he quickly got a glimpse of the old man.

"Hey kid! How you've been? It's about time I've seen you here. Tony, great to see you."

"Dad finally agreed to let me come with him here."

"Yeah, kid's pretty bored at the house. About time this company feels a fresh sight."

"I want to remind you of the Apogee Award next week Tony, don't be a no-show on this one, Again."

His dad smirked and patted Uncle Obi's shoulder. "Do I have to?" he laughed. "Don't worry. I'll try. I'll be there."

* * *

A week has passed and Tony went to Las Vegas for the Apogee Award Ceremony in which he is seemingly absent. The morning after, he's now at his garage tinkering on one of his cars.

Peter woke up early and searched for his father downstairs and grabbed a piece of toast

"Dad?" Peter called.

"Your Father's on his lab, young master." answered JARVIS.

"Thanks JARVIS!"

He went to his father's lab and hurriedly hugged his father at the back. "DAD!"

His Dad turned and hugged him back.

"You didn't show up? Did you?"

"Aww. You know it scares me that you knew your Dad so well now bud. and I miss you." then his dad kissed his head. "Wanna give me a hand here?"

Just then Pepper showed up speaking on her phone and went up to them.

"You are supposed to be halfway around the world now. Your flight was supposed to leave an hour ago." Pepper said with impatience and worry in her voice.

"Hi Pepper!" Peter greeted "Hey Peter!" and she patted his hair.

"How's she handled it?" Dad asked while looking at the graph hologram.

"Like a champ."

"Why are you trying to hustle me out here?"

"Tony I need to speak to you about a couple of things."

Dad dropped one of the engines and turned to face Peter. "Alright Pete. I'll be out again today. I told you about the Weapons Presentation at Afghanistan right?"

"The Jericho Missile?"

"Yeah, that. I'll be back later tonight but don't wait for me if it's already late."

Peter nodded. "Ok. Go upstairs and prepare for school and then we'll head out at the same time. Capiche?"

"Capiche!"

Peter went upstairs where he saw a woman just leaving the front door. He shrugged and just prepared for school.

Tony and Happy dropped Peter off first and before hopping out of his Daddy's car, Peter hugged his Dad tight "Take care out there Dad. I'll miss you. See you later!"

"I'll be back before you know it." Tony said as he kissed his son's forehead." I love you Pete."

"I love you too Dad." Peter let go and waved them goodbye.

Tony watched Peter go inside the entrance of his school before he and Happy raced back to the Stark grounds for the jet.

The whole day passed by like a blur. After school he went by to his Dad's lab to work on his glue project, he's working on how to strengthen the texture and is still tweaking on the formulas. It looks like an ordinary colorless glue for now. After Dad comes back later, maybe I'll ask him for some input.

He also watched a new anime that was recommended by one of his friends at school. The anime was called "Gundam Seed". He thought it's so cool where a human controls a robot from the inside and thought about telling this to his Dad. It would be crazy if a human can have super power abilities powered by a robot armor. How cool would that be!

He waited for his Dad to arrive that night. His bedtime is at 8 and he tried to sleep in but it was to no avail.

Tossing and turning, his eyes shot open. Something's been bugging him but don't know what it is.

"JARVIS, time?"

"It's already 10 o'clock young master Peter. You should sleep by now."

"Do you know where Dad is?"

"I cannot locate Mr. Stark right now Peter."

That's odd. JARVIS usually knows where Dad is even if he's outside.

Peter sighed. It's already past 10 and his Dad should have arrived by now. Peter got up to his feet and decided to go downstairs when he heard a low voice.

"Is Peter already asleep?"

"I tucked him to bed at 8pm Miss Potts." Mrs. Eleanor answered.

Relief washed over him at the voice of Pepper, it means that Dad is also already here.

He was at the stairs when he had a clear view of Pepper.

"Pepper?" Peter said walking downstairs. "Where's Dad? Is he with you? Did he went to the lab already?"

Pepper didn't answer and just stared at him with tear stricken eyes, taking a deep breath, contemplating on what to say.

Something's wrong but no, it can't be. No, no, no. Please. He didn't want to believe it until Pepper said the words.

It was the day his Daddy, Tony Stark never came home.


	6. Chapter 6

Cold sweat dripped on her back. Pepper came to realize that this is such a bad idea and bad timing. Worry was all over Peter's face. Perhaps, she should've just come tomorrow, should've just keep this a secret. But her eyes can't lie to Peter. Her eyes already told a story. Obviously telling something's wrong. That something bad happened. There is no way Peter's going to believe if I tell him that everything's alright.

"Peter, listen carefully to me okay. Tony - He... Your Dad. After the weapons presentation, as they were on their way to the military base for the jet to go back home. The -"

Pepper stopped her words halfway. Oh God, I can't, I can't say it. Peter's going to be crushed.

"The what?"

Pepper kneeled in front of him, with both arms extended on Peter's shoulders keeping an eye level with him.

"Their convoy was ambushed."

"What... H- How? Where is he? Is he okay? Is he hurt? Is he at the hospital? Can we go see him?"

Panic started to form on Peter's chest. His hands started to shake. His breathing becoming short and ragged.

"Peter, breathe. Breathe." She started to rub the boy's arms and back trying to calm him down until he was able to.

"Please Pepper, please tell me… Where's daddy?"

Pepper just stared at Peter her tears forming but unable to form the words. She can't do this to Tony's kid.

"Pepper please, where is he?"

She closed her eyes and taking one deep breath she answered.

"I don't know Peter. We don't know. James and the US Military are searching for your Dad.

We're still searching for your Dad and we won't stop searching."

Tears sprung from his eyes that immediately started to flow like waterfall.

"No, no Pepper. He told me. He told me he's gonna come back tonight."

"He told me... He can't leave me... He can't die Pepper... He - He can't..."

Peter cried until he was unable to talk anymore. His crying and tears clouded his eyes and throat. Hurt, pain and worry was all over his face.

Pepper clutched the boy and hugged him, sat him on her lap trying to calm him down and rubbing his back. There's nothing she can do but just cry there with him. She carried him to his room and stayed there until she was able to hear him sleeping with steady breaths but distress still lingers on the little boy's face.

* * *

His bloodshot eyes buzzed open. Splitting ache surged through his whole body. It's cold, it's really cold, he can feel his arms freezing going numb.

It's dark, it's cold. Where am I?

Then the memories suddenly flooded in a wave of flash.

The ambush. The Jericho missile setting off on him. The surgery. The goddamn surgery that has no anesthetic. Unimaginable pain searing through, knocking him unconscious, passing him out over and over again. He's thirsty and hungry. He tore out the tube from his nose, reached for the cup but failed. He coughed, he needs water. Going sideways he saw man, tried to get up to him but was stopped by a pull from a wire. WHAT THE - What is this. The wire, it's connected to him. WHAT - He tore open the patch and bandages to see... his chest powered by a battery.

The panic started to fill him, PETER! He's been gone, his kid's gonna freak out.

How long has he been out?

I gotta get back. I need to get back.

* * *

"Peter, honey, Ned's here." Pepper said as she led Ned to Peter's room. She asked consent from the Leeds if Ned can visit Peter for a day or two and they agreed, so Happy picked up Ned from Queens. She knew Peter would need his bestfriend during these tough times.

"Peter?"

Peter's just sitting at his bed staring at the ocean while clutching Oreo the stuffed dog at his chest.

"Ned." Peter turned and smiled but it didn't reach his eyes.

"I'll let you two alone, okay." and Pepper closed the door and left.

"What - What are you doing here?"

"I want to see how you're doing."

I'm sorry with what happened Peter" Ned hugged Peter tightly.

Tears started to form in Peter's eyes. No matter how hard he tries to be strong. His emotions betray him.

"You want to talk about it?"

"What if he's already dead? They were ambushed in a desert Ned. It's full of sand. No food, no water, and the mountains are freezing. How will he survive? and what if... What if he's been taken by those terrorist? What if they already killed him?"

"Peter, you can't think that."

"But it has been a month now and no one's ever seen him! They're searching all day, and all night but there's no news, not even one, not even a glimpse to show he's still alive."

"Your father is Mr. Tony Stark, THE TONY STARK, Peter! He's a Genius! You said he can do anything, right? I'm sure he's out there trying and making a way to get back to you."

Peter, don't lose hope, because we're not. Miss Potts and Colonel Rhodey's not losing hope, so why should you? We believe in your Dad."

Ned's right. His Dad's a genius and a fighter. He's headstrong. He'll come back home and we're all going to wait for him. Peter slowly smiled and hugged Ned.

"Thanks Ned. Yeah, Dad won't back down without a fight."

* * *

Gazing at the bonfire, the heat emanating not from the fire but from his rage. The events drifted into his bearings, saved by a surgeon who has put an electromagnet in his chest that keeps shrapnel from entering his heart. An electromagnet hooked up to a battery. His weapons being used by bad guys for mass destruction, and he's now on one of their caves. How ironic.

In a blink of an eye his world turned upside down. In a blink of an eye he's gone from his son. Being forced down to drown in a barrel of water, forced to make a fucking missile for a promise of freedom that won't get him back home. No, he won't. They won't cause they're fucking monsters!

"I'm sure they're looking for you Stark. But they will never find you in these mountains."

Yinsen tried to make a point. "Look, what you just saw... that is your legacy, Stark. Your life's work in the hands of those murderers. It's that how you want to go out?"

"Peter's my Legacy." Peter. His heart breaks just by thinking about his little kid. He's probably scared as hell right now. I got to get back. I can't leave him alone. I need to find a way, but how?

"Who's Peter?"

"He's my son, he's my life."

"Then what are you going to do about it? You're going to let those weapons destroy the name you built? The future of your son?"

"Why should I do something about it? None of those weapons matter now, none of these - they're gonna kill me or you either way and if not we're gonna be dead in a week."

He knew that's what's going to happen but he can't accept it. He can't. He was supposed to be dead, but is not. How he survived the surgery is a miracle even. That means something. He's not finished yet. He can't leave his son alone. He was supposed to protect him. There's got to be something.

"You have a son waiting for you home and some of us aren't even lucky to have one. Well, then. This is a very important week now, isn't it?"

His mind started to race with a thousand ideas. Arc reactor. Repulsor. Suit of Armor.

In an instant, something clicked. I can make this work. He finally knew what he's supposed to do to get out of that hell hole.

* * *

Even Happy is worried about the kid. He's the one who drops him off to school everyday.

Before releasing him to the school grounds, he patted the kid's shoulder.

"I know it's tough right now kid, but you gotta stay strong okay?"

"Yeah" Peter tried to smile. "Thanks Happy." Then he hugged him.

"I'll be here same time later after school. Okay?"

"Okay. Bye Happy!"

* * *

All they can do is wait. Pepper looks over at Peter, it has been two months now, and still no news. Hope is slowly drifting from their fingers as days go by but they can't give up. Not now and not ever.

"How is he? How's he doing?" Rhodey asked one afternoon. He goes by the house once a month since the ambush to check on Peter. They were sitting at the kitchen drinking coffee while looking at Peter on the couch playing with his Lego sets and toy robots, a cartoon show playing on the TV keeping him occupied.

"He's been better. He's trying to stay strong James. He goes to school everyday, plays with other kids, and still has stellar grades on his subjects. He doesn't cry everyday now so that's a good thing, but you can see his eyes… they're distances away, affixed on nowhere. His teachers said they sometimes see him just staring at the window most of the time deep in thought. We hope - we all always hope that Tony's still alive but if Tony died... I'm afraid we won't get the spark back from that kid anymore." Pepper said with worry, her eyes already starting to water. Peter can't be an orphan again. He just doesn't deserve that.

Is there any news? Even a little improvement on the search operations? It's been two months already Rhodey. There's gotta be something we can hold on to."

"We're trying everything Pepper. There are patrols day and night. We started searching the mountain ranges now and it's not easy. These are vast deserts and mountains on ends. I'm sorry. I wish I could've been on that "fun-vee" Tony insisted. I could've been there to protect him."

Pepper smiled amidst the sadness enveloping them, "That's not your fault, and we know how Tony likes his fun-vees. Stubborn and stupid funvees."

They both laughed.

"Oh. I miss Tony." Pepper suddenly blurted out.

"Yeah. I know you do."

"What?"

"Oh c'mon. You don't have to hide it. Those secret smitten looks? Side glances? The room's been bursting with that whenever you two are together."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Alright, alright." Rhodey said as he put his hand up to surrender. "The two of you can fool each other. But nah uh, not me."

Rhodey smirked and started to stand up. He went to Peter and sat the boy down to his lap. "Hey champ, what movie do you like to watch?"

"There's this really cool movie that's just been released called "Transformers". The cars transforms into robots!"

"Wow. Alright. Let's take a look at that."

She very well know what Rhodey's talking about, and she hopes it's still not too late.

* * *

Everything in the mansion reminds him of his Dad, everywhere he goes. The piano where he and Dad plays a piece every now and then, the pool, the living room where they watch movies every weekend, the kitchen where they eat breakfast together everyday. Sometimes he imagines Dad is just at the lab tinkering, working on a new project, but then reality hits and the house feels alone again. That's why he prefers school, but even there it feels no difference. His Dad is still gone and no one knows if he's alive or not.

Pepper goes at the house every other night to check up on him and tuck him to bed.

"Peter, do you want to stay with me for the mean time?" Pepper asked as she can't stand seeing Peter so sad at the house anymore.

"Thanks Pepper, but I want to stay here until Dad comes back. I want him to know that I'm here to welcome him home."

She can't believe how pure and thoughtful Peter is. There's no wonder he had Tony wrapped around his little finger.

"I'm sure he would've loved that, Peter. But don't hesitate to tell me if you want to get out of the house for a while. Your father still wants to see you happy, and he wouldn't want you seeing sad all the time."

"I'm not sad. I just miss him, Pepper. I'm not losing hope, but I just miss him so much that it hurts." his voice broke and tears started dropping on his cheeks.

"It just hurts so much Pepper. Please make it stop. Please make Daddy come back." Peter started sobbing and crying and she can feel his little heart breaking but there's nothing she could do but hug the little boy.

* * *

Every time he's about to lose hope, a memory flashes over him... A memory that happened when he was five years old.

"Nooo, Dad! Please.. come back!" Peter screamed. He's having a nightmare.

"Peter I'm here. Wake up. Please wake up. I'm here buddy, I'm here." Dad tried to wake him up while desperately but gently shaking his shoulders.

"DAD!" his eyes shot open and he clung hard on his dad.

"You - You were gone! You left me, you didn't come back! Please please don't leave me. Please I don't want to be alone. Don't leave me!" his voice hysterical and afraid.

"Ssshhh baby, I'm here. I won't leave you. I'm never gonna leave you. Ssshh..." Tony carried him into his arms. He wrapped his arm around his dad's neck and hugged him. Clinging desperately, afraid that his dad's going to disappear in a blink of an eye.

"You went into a black hole Dad. I tried calling you but you can't hear me. I tried to reach you but you're too far gone - I screamed and screamed for you to turn your back around but you didn't!" Peter said the words so fast, he was out of breath.

"Peter, breathe. Breathe, baby. Hear my breathing, follow it. Relax... I'm here. I'm never gonna leave you." Tony assured his son, kissing him countless on his forehead. They went to the terrace to have some fresh air. Tony knew that his son relaxes by the sight of the ocean. It's now glistening from the light of the moon.

"Peter, remember, I won't leave you okay? and No matter where I go, I'll never leave your side. I'm always here -" and his Dad pointed his finger into his chest indicating his heart. "When you feel your heart, you remember that I love you, okay? I love you so much Peter, I'm here and you will never be alone. " Dad kissed his forehead. He can hear his Dad's heart beating, relaxing him, humming him to sleep.

The memory always calms him. He's once again at the room of his Dad. It's already been three months since. He pulled out his Dad's watch collection and remembered his favorite, the Jaeger-LeCoultre AMVOX3. Dad's planning to upgrade this watch into something but hasn't designed the tech yet. I'm sure it'll be so awesome! He jumped at his Dad's bed. He just kept jumping until he got tired. When is he going to come home?

He saw a long sleeved white shirt his dad always used to wear and tried it on with some shades. Some scent of his Dad still there, then he went to a full length mirror.

"Yeah, peace. I love peace. I'd be out of a job with peace. Please call me Tony. Tony Stark." Peter tried to impersonate his Dad while making a peace sign while wearing his clothes. He laughed at himself. He missed his dad's snarky and witty comments.

He went to bed slowly drifting into sleep from a long day. I wish Dad's already here in the morning.

* * *

It was a smooth ride but the voice of Yinsen still echoed in his mind. "Don't waste it. Don't waste your life." The plane hangar slowly opened as the dawn sunlight passes through.

Thank you for saving me Yinsen. He owes it to him and to himself to make his life worthwhile, purposeful. How? He was about to find out.

He saw familiar faces that's waiting for him at the tarmac and felt relieved. Rhodey assisted him, they walked down the hanger slowly taking careful steps. Got rid of the stretcher as it comes to him and walked straight to Pepper.

A refreshing sight from the cold. She feels like the sun, giving him warmth.

"Your eyes are red. A few tears for your long-lost boss?"

"Tears of joy. I hate job hunting." Pepper has been more than grateful. When she got a call from Rhodey the night before saying they found him, she almost can't believe it. Thank God!

"Yeah, vacation's over."

"Where to, sir?" Happy asked as they were already inside the car.

"Take us to the hospital, please, Happy." Pepper said.

"No."

"No? Tony, you have to go to the hospital. I can pick Peter up at the mansion and then he'll be there."

"No is a complete answer."

"The doctor has to look at you."

"I don't have to do anything. I've been in captivity for three months. There are two things I want to do. I want an American cheeseburger and I want to go home and see Peter. You haven't told him yet right?"

"No, he's still sleeping. It's early morning, the sun has just risen."

"Hogan, drive. I want to surprise him. He'll be happy I bought a cheeseburger as a souvenir."

"How's Peter? How is he? Tell me my boy's alright. No, tell me everything."

"Oh Tony, you have no idea."

* * *

_**Author's note:**_

It's the Iron Man arc now. Yay! Guys take note; I'm following the MCU timeline.

Please don't hesitate to review. Feedback is very much appreciated. Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

"Welcome home, Sir." JARVIS said as Tony stepped inside the mansion.

"Thanks, Jarvis."

"It's been a long time, Sir. Based on reports, I calculated your safe return at 0.25 Percent."

"Yes, that's terrible. I missed you too. Where's Peter?"

"Young master Peter is currently sleeping at your room, Sir. Would you like me to wake him up?"

"No. No, JARVIS. I'll do that myself."

Tony rushed upstairs, carefully opening the door of his room. It seems like the first time he saw Peter all over again. The feeling of nervousness and excitement but the incredible joy, relief, and happiness washed over him afterwards. He's home now, at long last. He saw Peter soundly sleeping at his bed, wearing a white over-sized shirt that he usually wears. The sight bought mixed emotions into his system that his eyes welled up. I'm sorry Peter, Daddy's been gone. Peter must've been so lonely, sad, and afraid. Emotions that he never wanted the little boy to feel especially if he's the one who caused it. He went up to his side and brushed his hair, staring lovingly at his son caressing and memorizing each part of his face. He's grown in the last three months and silently wished that he's been there to see that. He planted a kiss on his forehead and smelled his baby scented hair, his son finally in his arms again.

Peter's body slowly moved, slowly starting to wake up.

"Petey-pie, wake up. Daddy's home." Tony said to his son in an almost like whispered voice.

"It's the weekend Dad. Lemme sleep." Peter said in a low voice, eyes still closed. Hmm, that's weird, that's dad's voice, has JARVIS been programmed to say that? But no that's really his dad's voice, but he's gone, he's not here... Wait, WHAT?

"Wait. DAD?" He opened his eyes, and rubbed it to make sure. He started to sit up to see the man clearly lying on his side. It can't be.

He cupped his Dad's face with his hands examining every part of it.

"I'm not dreaming right, you're real? You're here!"

"Yes, Yes, I am, Peter." Tony said laughing with tears of joy, and with that, Peter immediately wrapped his arms around his dad tightly hugging him.

"Oh Dad! You came home! You're finally back!"

I thought you were gone! I thought you were never going to come back!" A few tears already formed from his eyes.

Tony kissed his hair. "Yeah. I'm sorry buddy. I'm here. I'm home now. I'll always come back to you."

Peter hugged his Dad's chest to hear his heart beating but was instead welcomed by a humming.

"What happened to your chest? What's that thing? I can't hear you heart. Dad. You're alive right? Are you a machine now?"

Tony snorted and laughed. Oh he's finally back home. Home wouldn't be home without Peter and his non-stop questions. "No, silly." Tony smiled and ruffled his hair.

"This." Tony gestured at the glowy thing that's keeping him alive. "This is an electromagnet, Pete. You know an electromagnet right?"

Peter nodded.

"When we were ambushed, a bomb set off on me. This electromagnet keeps a shrapnel from going into my heart."

"but an electromagnet's not supposed to glow, right?" Peter asked confused.

Tony smirked; he knew his son wouldn't miss this detail. He got that genius from him after all.

"That's right Pete. Well, can you guess any other power source that glows?"

Peter tried to think for a few seconds. He saw it when he visited the company grounds.

"The Arc Reactor!"

"Oh you really are my son. Yes. This is a miniaturized arc reactor, Pete. It powers the electromagnet."

"Wow! That's so cool! You're like powered by that thing! But you're going to be alright, right Dad?"

"I'll be more than alright, bud. Don't worry ok? I have you and I have this glowy thing. I'll be alive for a long time so to say."

Peter once again hugged his Dad "I missed you so much Dad." Tony kissed him on his forehead. "I missed you too bud, so so much. I love you."

"I love you too Dad." They stayed in each others arms for awhile.

"C'mon let's get you out of here Mr. Stark. I bought a cheeseburger." Tony winked and they both laughed. Tony creased and folded the sleeves of Peter's oversized shirt then carried Peter in his arms, he noticed he got lighter than normal but taller.

"That's so you, Dad, and Cheeseburger for breakfast! Awesome!"

"Yeah. Now that I'm here you're gonna eat young man."

They headed downstairs to eat breakfast. Peter sat into Tony's lap while they ate cheeseburger and other breakfast food at the table. Pepper stared at them lovingly. Finally, the father and son duo is reunited. Peter started to tell Tony school happenings from the last three months.

"Pepper set-up a press conference later please." Tony said as they finished eating their breakfast.

"What? What on earth for Tony? You need to rest or maybe some medical attention perhaps. I can call your Doctor-"

"Pepper, this is important. Okay? I need to do this."

"Okay. Right away, boss." Pepper finally said. She knew she can't disagree with those eyes.

"Thanks Miss Potts."

"Can I come Dad?" Peter asked, he doesn't want his Dad to get away from his sight.

"Of course you can buddy. Let's get you some bath and let's suit up first, alright."

* * *

The Rolls-Royce car drove around the Stark Industries main building. They saw every executive clapping, welcoming their CEO back. The car stopped and Obadiah was the first to welcome him.

"Hey, look at this. Look at you. We're supposed to meet at the hospital." Obadiah gave Tony a man hug. "Nonsense. No hospital."

Tony's holding Peter's hand as they walked to the large conference room where the reporters are waiting. Just another thing he got from his Dad, Peter's not afraid of the press and reporters. He's also headstrong. He's Peter Parker Stark and he's not afraid to be himself.

The people started clapping when they saw Tony and started to get close to him. He wrapped his arms around Peter so to protect him from towering individuals, until they were on the stage.

"Dad can I sit here?" Peter asked then sat.

"Yeah let's sit here bud"

Hey, would it be all right if everyone sat down?" He mentioned to the reporters.

That way you can see me and my kid. A little less formal and..."

All of the people around them sat on the floor afterwards and kept silent, everybody listened.

"I never got to say goodbye to Dad. I never got to say goodbye to my father. It's something I never wanted my son to experience. There's questions that I would have asked him. I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels."

Tony then tapped his son's shoulder and Peter just listened quietly. Tony remembered the time he toured Peter around the company and his kid questioned the weapons, but he was too blinded by the vision of his company - building weapons for peace, that he didn't even come to entertain the thought that what if these weapons could have killed other innocent people.

"I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."

Peter immediately has a feeling what his Dad's going to say next. "Dad you're not going to..."

but he was cut off when suddenly a bunch of reporters threw their hands up to ask questions. His dad just wrapped his arms around his shoulders.

"Mr. Stark!"

His Dad pointed to a reporter he knew. "Hey, Ben."

"What happened over there?"

What happened over there needs to stop, he thought. The world will be a better place without these weapons. He stood up and Peter stood up as well holding each other's hands.

"I had my eyes opened. I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International." All of the reporters stood up to ask questions. Obadiah came to his father's side to stop him from talking. They then headed out of the conference room and went the the arc reactor site where Tony and Obadiah talked further.

"Dad, what are we going to eat now?" Peter suddenly asked while at the car on their way back home.

"What?" Tony asked confused.

"You shut down the weapons division Dad, and Stark Industries is a weapons company that doesn't make any weapons now."

"Yeah, so?"

"So aren't we going to become poor now? You won't be able to afford Chef Paul now, Dad. What are we going to eat?"

Tony burst out laughing while Pepper and Happy laughed as well. Peter's innocence never fails to lighten up every situation. Tony brushed off the few tears from laughing hard, then wrapped his arm around Peter and kissed his forehead. "Oh I love you buddy."

I'll cook for us. You like my cooking right?"

Peter raised one of his eyebrows. "Really dad?" He knows his Dad aren't fond of cooking, he doesn't have the patience for it and quickly burn things off.

"Yeah, waffles, smoothies and... You know what, don't worry bout that. We'll get through enough just fine." Tony winked at Peter and just smiled. As long as he have his kid by his side, they're always going to be alright.

That night, Tony build his new arc reactor that will replace the current one he got.

Tony started his new project. He cannot stop thinking of the fact that his weapons are still out there wreaking havoc in the lives of the innocent. He cannot let another person to be murdered, another kid to be orphaned and another town to be destroyed. He's going to find those weapons in the wrong hands and destroy every bit of it.

"You up Jarvis? Tony typed in the codes for the secret database of his Mark I in his lab.

"For you sir, always." He opened up the prototype design of Mark I and pulled it out to a hologram at the table.

"I'd like to open a new project file, index as Mark II."

Secure this on my private server. We wouldn't want this to end up in the wrong hands." He started to examine the Mark I to lay out the improvements he needed to make.

"Working on a secret project, are we, sir?"

"We don't know who to trust anymore. Maybe in mine it could actually do some good, and soundproof the whole lab. We wouldn't want to worry the young master anymore, wouldn't we?"

Peter can't know any of this yet. It's too dangerous and he can't drag his kid into his avenging after three months of being away. His kid doesn't deserve that. He worked with the Mark II day and night. Starting from the leg armor up to the arms. Dum-E, U, and Butterfingers being his assistants. He works and tries the prototype when Peter is at school. After tucking him to bed, he works for the whole night. Caffeine mostly running is his veins. He still allows Peter to go by the lab with him helping him through his homework, and he always manages to put away the secret stuff in a secure area of the lab while he still works the suit in his computer.

It took him 15 days to finish the suit completely, took him longer but worth it nevertheless. JARVIS is already fully integrated in the system and tests are all complete. He made sure to test his first flying test or lesson on a fine evening, where he asked Pepper to keep an eye on Peter for a while, took him to a haircut and some ice-cream, maybe a little bit shopping.

His first flight of the Iron Man suit was completely exhilarating. He tested the limits of the altitude the suit can fly up and found it completely iced up higher than 85000 ft., then he falls blind and was saved only by flaps deployed manually, nearly dropping on the traffic of the city. He powered down at the house but didn't expect the suit to completely tear down the ceiling to the floor and then landed on his blue vintage car. And he also completely destroyed Peter's Piano. Oh crap, Peter's gonna be horrified to see this. He got out of his suit and got an ice pack to control his headache until he noticed a gift from Pepper, his old arc reactor when he asked for help to attach the new one on his chest. Carved into it the words "Proof that Tony Stark has a Heart" Of course he has a heart. But the gesture of thoughtfulness may have softened his heart even more.

* * *

What he and Pepper saw on the road back home was completely unbelievable. A man dressed in a silver armor flying! It almost touched down the road that cars suddenly have to keep out. He can't be mistaken. Is it a superhero? He couldn't believe it. He's so excited to tell it to his father.

Peter walked inside the mansion excitedly to find his Dad just walking upstairs from his lab.

"Dad!" He went to his father and jumped excitedly. "I have to tell you something! You wouldn't believe it!"

"Oh yeah. What is it? By the way nice haircut kid, did you and Pepper had fun?"

"Yeah we did - Wait... Wha-What happened to Grandma's Piano? and the ceiling? and the floor?" He noticed in his peripheral vision the Piano completely destroyed. It's like someone dropped a gigantic heavy thing shattering everything straight down.

"Well... a massive metal dropped from the roof from the jet. Part of an experiment gone wrong. Sorry about your Piano Pete. We'll just replace it. So what do you want to talk about earlier?" Tony tried to swerve the topic. He knows that was lame, Oh God he hopes Peter believed it. He tried to turn Peter's back from it as they headed upstairs.

"Thanks so much Pepper, and please take care of this for me." Tony whispered to Pepper as they walked past her.

"Right." Pepper tried to smile while mouthing "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS" with no sound in which Tony only replied with a flying kiss.

"Why would you experiment like that Dad? What kind of experiment is that? The piano's completely shattered; we had a ton of memories from that Piano."

"I know Pete. I'm sorry. I'll be more careful next time. So what do you want to talk about?" Guilt is already filling up Tony. Peter looked sad and it's his fault again. He doesn't know until when he can keep a secret like this.

"It's okay Dad. We saw something earlier!" From being sad, Peter immediately perked up excitedly which surprised Tony. Wow it's that easy huh.

"A man in a silver armor flew right past us so fast when we're at the car back home!"

Oh No, Tony thought. Peter was there? Of all instances, WHAT, WHY... I could've been more careful; I almost knocked off one of the cars.

"The man's literally flying Dad! Like his foot have rockets or something! He's covered in a metal like Armor!"

"Oh Wow..."

"Yeah Dad! It's so cool! Do you think he's a superhero cause that'll be crazy!"

A superhero? Hmm, no. Not yet, anyway.

"I don't think so Pete... maybe it's just a show? Maybe? We're not sure yet of what he is."

"I have a feeling he's good Dad. I hope he's good. What do you think his name will be? Metal Man?"

WHAT. Tony laughed hard. "Oh God, that's terrible Pete."

"Yeah. That's lame." and Peter laughed as well.

"C'mon let's get you some sleep now."

As he tucks Peter to bed, he couldn't help but wonder what his son's reaction might be when he found out he's that thing. Will he be happy or disappointed? Will it be okay with him? Will he be able to accept him?

* * *

The next day, Tony decided to crash his own party. The third red carpet annual benefit ball that he's not even invited into. He has already updated the suit with a new shell metal and exosystem to solve the icing problem and is now also being rendered for a new paint job of hot rod-red and gold which will be done for about five hours.

The father and son duo stepped out of their Audi looking so dashing while wearing their Valentino three piece suit. Camera's and lights flashing through. All of the guest and reporters are completely surprised by their sudden appearance.

Once inside, Tony went to the bar to get a drink while Peter was greeted by Chef Joachim, the head chef of the restaurant at the Disney Concert Hall. They often goes at the restaurant and Peter has been loved by the staff ever since.

"Pepper!" Peter called once he finished talking to the Chef. The woman turned and was surprised to see a spirited little kid coming towards her.

Wow. You're so beautiful!" and hugged her afterwards.

"Thank you sweetheart. You look so handsome as well. What - Why are you here? Where's your Dad?"

"He's there." Peter pointed at his Dad talking to someone at the Bar.

"Mrs. Eleanor couldn't come at the house, so he just went with me here."

A moment after Tony was walking towards them.

"Fantastic! I almost didn't recognize you." Tony casually complimented as he stepped closely to Pepper.

"What's up with you bringing your son into all these adult events?" asked Pepper incredulously.

"His babysitter can't come in tonight, and I can't leave him alone at the house." Tony said as if it was the most normal thing a Parent could do.

You wanna dance?"

"No."

"Let's have a dance."

Pete, wait for me a while. You see that guy over there, he's Agent Coulson. He's gonna watch over you. Pep and I are just gonna dance a bit." Tony said to Peter tapping his shoulders and motioned to the man he's talking to earlier.

"Okay Dad. Go get her!" Peter whispered and left them alone while Tony held Pepper's hands and walked her towards the dance floor.

Peter went to the bar where the man his dad said to was standing, he grabbed a high stool chair and sat there.

"Hi Mr. Andrew" Peter said as he read the nametag of the bartender.

"Hello, Mr. Stark. What can we get you?"

"Can I have a grape juice please Mr. Andrew."

"Right away, sir."

"Thank you."

"Hi Mr. Coulson. I'm Peter." Peter greeted the man beside him just staring at his Dad and Pepper dancing.

Mr. Coulson turned to him, "Mr. Stark. I'm Agent Phil Coulson. It's nice to meet you."

"Please call me Peter. Mr. Stark's usually my Dad." He found Agent Coulson kind of funny, he stands pretty upright and talks so straightforward.

"Very Well, Peter."

"You're an agent, like James Bond?" Peter asked curious and started drinking his grape juice while they're watching the people dancing most especially Pepper and his Dad. They looked so good together. He just wished his Dad finally realize what Pepper is into his life.

"Yeah, like that, but with a bit more shocker. I'm from the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division."

"The what? That's a lot of words Mr. Coulson but that's cool!" By then he noticed his Dad and Pepper went outside.

"Yeah, we get that a lot."

"Oh I remember! You're also at the press conference! You're talking with Pepper and you're here again."

"Yes, I need to talk to your Dad, and he never got the time but just now."

"Yeah, he's usually at home in his lab. They're saying my Dad's bedridden but that's a complete opposite! Look at him! They have no idea what they're saying."

"Yes, we know."

"So, it's SHIELD right? What does SHIELD do? Do you have missions? What kind of missions? Do you fight bad guys? Do you have really cool gadgets?"

Agent Coulson looks surprised as the kid had easily formed the right acronym and the many questions he immediately raised.

"It's an intelligence agency tasked to protect National and Global Security, so we always have missions. We monitor threats." Agent Coulson gave a vague answer, that's what intelligence agencies all mean. He doesn't want the kid to delve any deeper than what it actually means.

"So, your dad usually brings you in these kind of events?"

He noticed Dad talking to a familiar female reporter now and noticed how quickly his dad perplexed, and before long went outside again.

"Um, sometimes. Mrs. Eleanor can't come tonight and I insisted to come with him here. I promised to sleep before 10 anyway. It's just 830."

"And you're comfortable with these? Seems pretty boring stuff."

"It is, but my Dad and I don't get too long with these events. Hmm, what does my Dad got something to do with SHIELD anyway?"

Agent Coulson's about to answer but was cut-off when Dad intervened.

"Agent Coulson, thanks for keeping an eye on Peter." Dad looks mad about something but still seemed composed.

"It's no problem, Mr. Stark. See you at the 24th."

"Right, I'll see you. We gotta go now, buddy."

"Okay. Great talking to you Agent Coulson! Bye!"

Tony tried to remain calm until they got home and tuck Peter to bed. I am not my company, he thought to himself. His weapons are being sold under the table and he's gonna find out who did this. And if his hunch is right, Obadiah is the only one who did this. He's gonna stop and destroy all of it.

After watching the news of all the horrific things happenings in Gulmira. He finally decided it's time to stop the Ten Rings once and for all. With the new Red and Gold paint of the suit armor, he headed out to do what needs to be done.

* * *

After his fight to Gulmira and his accidental training exercise from the military. He asked Pepper to come and run an errand for him to hack into the mainframe of the company and retrieve all data from Shipping.

"And what do you plan to do with this information if I bring it back here?" Pepper asked worried.

"Same drill. They've been dealing under the table, and I'm going to stop them. I'm going to find my weapons and destroy them."

"Tony, you know that I would help you with anything, but I cannot help you if you're going to start all of this again. You're going to kill yourself, and I'm not going to be a part of it. Your son has been through enough." Pepper threw the flash drive away and started to walk out.

"You think I don't know that? I'm trying to protect him Pepper! I'm trying... to protect the people that I put in harm's way. I want to destroy those weapons cause it causes destruction and killings. I'm trying to give him a better world. I can't let Peter grow up in a world where I had created those weapons and I didn't even try to do anything to stop it...

If I have the power to stop it, then it's my responsibility to get the job done."

Tony said all the words with conviction spoken like a true hero.

"I shouldn't be alive, unless it was for a reason. I'm not crazy, Pepper.

I just finally know what I have to do. And I know in my heart that it's right."

They lock eyes with each other, contemplating the words said in silence.

"You and Peter, You're all I have, too, you know." Pepper started to pick up the flash drive and made her way out.

* * *

It was a peaceful night before the storm. The ocean looks so calm and majestic under the moon.

It has been a while since he cuddled his son like this to sleep. Peter's hugging his Dad, his face to his dad's chest, listening to the humming sound it makes and his head laying on his dad's arms.

"Dad, do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what Pete?"

"When you went back here... something changed in you. Not just that." Peter pointed to the arc reactor on his Dad's chest. His dad doesn't have to say it but everyone else can see it especially him.

"What does it felt like Dad?"

"I don't think you'd want to know bud."

"I want to know."

It took a few minutes before Tony can wrap his head around to even say the words out loud.

"It was cold - the cave.

I- I didn't... It was just... I don't think there's enough words to describe the pain bud.

I was afraid, terrified even... to die.

but I kept thinking about you, the thought of you kept me going.

Just all of it, it was hard, and it was a miracle I even survived. I guess from all that, it's hard not to change bud. It just made me appreciate the one's I have here..." and he kissed his son's forehead.

"I'm sorry Dad."

"No, don't bud. I'm sorry, you have to stick up to your father like this."

"No.. I'm so lucky I have you Dad. Thank you for being strong enough to come back home."

"and Thank you for being my son." His dad whispered and kissed his head while they both drifted off to sleep.

* * *

It was game night tonight, and the Stark boys just finished having dinner. Twice a week, the Father and son have a game night that consist of a board game or some video game.

Tony momentarily went to the lab to pick up Peter's homework and books he forgotten to put in his bag-pack.

"Peter... What game do you like to play?" Tony called as he was on his way back headed upstairs from his lab.

"There's scrabble-" He was stopped when a ringing from his phone uproared which he immediately answered.

"Tony?" Pepper sound anxious and concerned.

"Pepper?"

"It was Obadiah, Tony! Obadiah ordered your kidnapping! He paid the ten rings-"

He's already upstairs when Pepper said the words and he stopped listening any further when his heart stopped on what he saw. It horrified his system to its core.

"What did you do to him?" Panic was rising all over his body. He was shaking. His heart sped like drums that thud nervously. His little kid. His little kid that he's supposed to protect.

Tony walked closer. Peter's head laying on Obadiah's lap. Not moving.

"Oh, Tony. I knew I was too late when I saw that secretary of yours walking quickly outside the company. Downloaded all of my secret files." Obadiah started brushing Peter's hair.

"A boy genius they say. Adorable, but what's the use if he's dead."

Tony's fist tightened. His anger rising in fits of rage. You monster!

"Get away from him!"

"If you say so." Obadiah started to stand up, gently laying the boy's head at the sofa.

"Peter!" Tony quickly head up to his boy and checked his pulse. He's so afraid for his boy. He's so afraid that something bad happened to him.

To his relief, Peter's still breathing, but then a sudden shock of electricity ran through his body that made him limp completely paralyzed. He became pale, his veins popped out like it's been strained, and he's having trouble breathing. He was completely unable to move and now at the mercy of Obadiah's device. Obadiah sat him up at the sofa next to Peter.

"Breathe.

Easy, easy.

You remember this one, right? The Sonic Taser.

A child is always the weakness of a Parent. Don't worry I didn't use it to your son. I don't kill children. Just a shot of Tranquilizer and Peter was off to snoozeville.

Poor child. He's gonna be an orphan again. Gonna see his Dad dead next to him."

Obadiah started extracting the arc reactor from Tony's chest.

"Tony. When I ordered the hit on you, I worried that I was killing the golden goose.

But, you see, it was just fate that you survived that. You had one last golden egg to give.

Do you really think that just because you have an idea, it belongs to you?"

He then completely tore off the reactor from his chest. Allowing the shrapnel to go slowly into Tony's heart at the same time killing him slowly. Tony just stared wide eyed struggling to Obadiah. He cannot die again. He can't. There's one more reactor at the lab. He must get it.

"Tony, this is your Ninth Symphony. What a masterpiece. Look at that. This is your legacy.

A new generation of weapons with this at its heart. Weapons that will help steer the world back on course, put the balance of power in our hands. The right hands. I wish you could've seen my prototype. It's not as... Well, not as conservative as yours. Too bad you had to involve Pepper in this. I would have preferred that she lived."

Obadiah started to get up and has secured the arc reactor in his briefcase making his way out.

Once Obadiah's out the door. He tried to stand up no matter how hard it is, searched for the elevator to the lab and struggled to get in. He was sweating profusely.

Must. Get. That. Reactor. He can't die. Not now. Peter's still asleep and he can't waste time.

In a few seconds he's at the lab but he can't stand anymore so he started crawling and limping to get that glass at the table. Every move, there's pain. He's now at the edge of the table, his hands tried hard to reach it but failed. He slumped back hard on the ground, just lying completely lifeless. He's slowly dying now, no strength, no reflexes. His mind already shutting down with eyes open. He can't do anything but wait now for his death.

"DAD!" His blurred vision saw Peter sprinting towards him. He heard a glass broke at his side, and in a few seconds the old arc reactor was powering up his chest again. His mind and body slowly regaining it's strength.

"DAD! ARE YOU OKAY? PLEASE BE OKAY... PLEASE." Peter asked panting. The face of his Dad dying scared him all over. That pale white face, veins popping, chest completely empty of the reactor. He woke up a few minutes after Obadiah left and knew something was wrong. He remembered Uncle Obi suddenly at their house then he suddenly fell asleep. When he can't find his dad at first glance of his surroundings, he immediately went to the lab where he found and saw his dad almost completely lifeless at the floor. He rushed toward the old arc reactor and broke the glass surrounding it. He knew how to replace and put up the arc reactor to his Dad's chest. He's done it before besides Pepper.

He started lifting his father's head into his lap. "Dad.." Tears are now dropping on his cheeks.

His Dad's hands held his head and brushed away his tears, slowly smiling. "Good boy. Good job buddy. Good job." His father tried to sit up, put his arm around him and kissed his forehead. "Thanks for saving me Pete. Thank you. Ohh I love you so much kid.." Dad rested his head on Peter's and closed his eyes resting for a bit.

Uncle Rhodey came in afterwards at the lab, worriedly calling out for Dad's name then ran up to them. "Tony! Peter! Are you okay?"

"Where's Pepper?" Dad asked.

"She's fine. She's with five agents. They're about to arrest Obadiah."

"That's not gonna be enough."

Uncle Rhodey started to help Dad to get up while his Dad's other arm still around him. When he started to get up as well, that's when he got a complete view of the lab. The Red and Gold Armor openly seen at a corner.

"What, that's- that's the metal armor! You're the flying man I was talking to you about? Ha- How did that happen?" Shocked is an understatement right now. He can't believe it. Dad's the superhero he's gushing about!

"I'll tell you all about it later Pete. For now, let's try to save Pepper. Obadiah stole my arc reactor, he's gonna do something bad about it and he won't give it up without a fight."

Dad went to the ref at the lab and drank some water. Afterwards, he stepped in front of the suit and the machines automatically started to assemble the armor into his Dad's whole body.

"That's the coolest thing I've ever seen." He and Uncle Rhodey blurted out at the same time, completely amazed.

Peter stared in awe. He's a complete dork in these kinds of stuff and he's freaking out!

"Not bad huh. Let's do this." The armor was completely assembled now and Dad fire tested on one of the cars.

"Whoa.." Peter said in amazement.

"Rhodey, take care of Peter. Never let him out of your sight."

"I will, Tony."

"I'll see you later buddy." His dad said to him and with that set off flying.

It was seen on the news later two unidentified individuals with robotic-like armors fighting off on the city highway, then flying into the sky. A large blast of beam from the arc reactor blasted to the sky moments later, blacking out half of the city, that ended of with the Arc Reactor explosion on Stark Industries company grounds.

* * *

The smell of disinfectant was the first he noticed when his senses woke up, he tried to open his eyes and was greeted by the dim lights of the large hospital room. It was still dark outside. The old arc reactor still attached to his chest that is in dire need of a new one. His little bundle of joy laying in his arms, hugging him and deeply sleeping in their large hospital bed. He kissed his son's head and relaxed. He just saved thousands of lives from another person with a vendetta and twisted idealism to create weapons for greed and power.

It is a new day now. They're all safe and sound, most especially his little one whom he swore to his life to protect, his legacy, his son, Peter. Hugging him into his arms as he slowly slips into unconsciousness once again.

The bright lights coming through the window as the early morning sun shines through. He opened his eyes to see Peter sitting at the bed, reading a newspaper. His son reading a newspaper, now that's new. He patted his son's hair that made his son turn and look at him.

"Dad! You're awake!" Peter quickly hugged him.

"Hey bud.." He kissed his son's head.

"Why didn't you tell me you were IRON MAN?"

"Iron Man? Who's Iron Man?"

"You! Look!" He showed him the newspaper with the headline saying "WHO IS THE IRONMAN?" accompanied by a picture of him in the Iron Man suit.

"That's how you got out of the cave isn't it?"

"Uh yes but with a scrappy prototype, and I'm about to tell you the story on game night but we got interrupted."

"Figures."

"and I thought it was Metal Man huh?" He tickled his son who immediately laughed.

"Yikes Dad, that one's lame. This one's better and so cool! Ned will freak out when I tell him!"

"Oh so we're telling everyone now?"

"Aren't we? You're not gonna tell everybody? Are you gonna be those superheroes in comic books with secret identity? cause that one's so common already."

"So I'm a superhero now? I don't really have a hero character yeah?, am I?"

"You saved people Dad! and you stopped the bad guys! That's what superheroes do and you can fly! You fight for good, that't what a hero character does right?"

"Do you want me to tell everybody?"

"I'm proud of you Dad, so it's okay. It's your decision."

"I don't deserve you, Peter. Thank you buddy. I'm so proud of you too."

"I can't believe Uncle Obie would do that to you." Peter said with a saddened voice. He has seen the old man as a lively and funny guy whenever with him. He's almost like a Grandpa to Peter already.

"Yeah. I'm sorry about that bud. I tried to stop him and-"

"You did the right thing Dad. You don't need to explain."

Pepper stepped inside the room.

"We need to settle this mess Tony. There's a press conference later. Are you able to speak?"

"Yes, yes, sure. I'll be there."

"Agent Coulson will be there to guide you on what to say Tony. Don't screw this up."

Later that afternoon, they're at Tony's office preparing for the Press Conference.

""Iron Man." That's kind of catchy. It's got a nice ring to it. I mean, it's not technically accurate. The suit's a gold-titanium alloy," Tony said as Pepper gives him last minute touch-ups.

Peter was riding his kick scooter, around the big office.

"Pete, you gotta be careful. You're going too fast." Tony called at the far end of the room.

"'Kay Dad."

"Here's your alibi. Just read it, word for word." Agent Coulson said referring to the cards Tony was supposed to say.

"There's nothing about Stane here."

"That's being handled. He's on vacation. Small aircraft, have such a poor safety record."

"But what about the whole cover story that it's a bodyguard?"

"No one's gonna believe that." Peter suddenly blurted out. He's been listening to the conversation, and he didn't know that he had said the words out loud. Oops.

All heads turned to Peter.

"What's that buddy?" Tony asked and Peter stopped in front of them and went to his Dad.

"I mean no one has the brains to build and power up something like that but Dad. and everyone knows he's you know, a genius and a mechanic, so..?"

"Kid's right, but we gotta stick to the cards for now, bud." Tony said as he tapped Peter's chest hugging him from his back.

"Just stick to the official statement, and soon, this will all be behind you. You've got 90 seconds." Agent Coulson firmly said, ending the conversation.

As Pepper talked to Agent Coulson, Tony talked to his son.

"You know I'm not the only genius around here Pete. You're the genius who's gonna surpass me. How bout we tinker at the lab after this? Examine the suit for yourself?"

"Oh Yeah? Dad! I'm so excited! I want to build my Iron Man mask that looks exactly like yours! Then can I also have the Iron Man boots with repulsors so I can fly?"

"Uh no, No flying for now. Mask's just fine, alright."

They started to stand up. "Pete, Pep and I would just be a moment, okay?"

"Okay." then Peter ran towards Agent Coulson.

"You know, it's actually not that bad. Even I don't think I'm Iron Man." Tony said as Pepper fixed his tie, laying out the finishing touches.

"You're not Iron Man."

"Peter said otherwise."

"You're not. And Peter's your kid. You're his father so naturally you're his hero."

"All right, suit yourself."

They talked more about the other night, when Tony stood up Pepper at the party. There's clearly a connection between them but Tony refused to delve in deeper as he was already defeated, it was his fault for having his priorities askew.

At the Press Conference, Pepper, Peter, and Agent Coulson watched Tony from the far end of the hall. He's wondering of what he's Dad's gonna say. He has a feeling that Dad's not really going to stick to the cards. It's not who he is. He tells the truth. He do his own way. Dad's a rebel and a fighter, and clearly he's one as well.

"Been a while since I was in front of you. I figure I'll stick to the cards this time."

The audience laughed. Clearly Dad's humor never goes out of style.

"There's been speculation that I was involved in the events that occurred on the freeway and the rooftop..."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, but do you honestly expect us to believe that that was a bodyguard in a suit that conveniently appeared, despite the fact that you..."

The familiar reporter interrupted. Really, that lady is inquisitively annoying, Peter thought.

"I know that it's confusing. It is one thing to question the official story, and another thing entirely to make wild accusations, or insinuate that I'm a superhero."

"I never said you were a superhero."

"Didn't? Well, good, because that would be outlandish and fantastic. I'm just not the hero type. Clearly. With this laundry list of character defects, all the mistakes I've made, largely public."

Uncle Rhodey whispered something to Dad.

"Yeah, okay. Yeah." and then there's one big pause.

Oh hell, there's no point in keeping it a secret anyway. The most important person in his life knows and accepts who he is...

Tony stared directly at his son, Peter who just gave him a smile indicating everything's gonna be alright.

"The truth is...

**I am Iron Man**."

The father and son grinned at the same time. This one's just the beginning of their adventures to come.

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

_**I hope you guys like this. Thank you for your reviews. I didn't explain the fight scenes anymore since it's all in the movie. This story's mainly focused on the father and son. Anyway, The Avengers: Endgame is closing near it's showing date and we're all about to fall in its pit of despair. I can't accept that it's the last Avengers movie. HUHUH.**_

**_Thanks for reading guys! Let me know what you think. _**


	8. Chapter 8

"Dude! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!"

"You heard the news."

"Your Dad's Iron Man? He's a superhero now?" Ned immediately called Peter when he heard the news.

"Yeah he is. A bit of late for you to know, you know."

"Having a vacation in the country with no signal sucks and that's crazy!"

"Yeah it's insane."

"I gotta meet him!"

"Dude you already met him, he's my Dad."

"Yeah! But not in the suit! I haven't met Iron Man!"

"Ned, Iron Man and Dad - Tony Stark, they're the same."

"Alright, but I gotta go there and meet him again in his Iron Man suit! I miss California, and it's freezing here. Let's swim again, maybe jump off that cliff this time."

"and what? Die?"

"Peter, c'mon."

"You can come with me at the Expo."

"What expo?"

"The Stark Expo, the one Grandpa created a long time ago for exhibition of new tech and inventions. Dad decided to open it again there in Queens in six months. We're gonna be making a lot of trips to New York. We'll be there."

"That's awesome dude!"

"Yeah, I gotta go. I'm almost done with my Iron Man helmet!"

"Oh my God! You know I'm so jealous right now. Can you build me the boots?"

"Even Dad won't allow me that. Talk to you soon! Bye!"

Peter hang up the phone from his room and ran towards the lab. It's only been a week since the big reveal. For the past week, while his Dad's tinkering with another suit, he's designing his own Iron Man helmet. The whole world was abuzzed and shocked to know that the great Tony Stark is the Iron Man. The first superhero to reveal his own identity publicly. He's still the number one topic in the news. People around the world started to idolize him. His fans from around the world are growing in numbers.

"Hey bud, you ready for this?"

"Yeah Dad! Let's rock and roll!" He tried the prototype if it fits his head. Since he still has little hands for building, most of the hardware are cut out by Jarvis but the tech behind it was done by his programming. Dad just monitors all of his codes and make sure he doesn't get clumsy.

In a few days, he's already done and it is the exact replica of Iron Man's mask except JARVIS isn't integrated in it.

Peter tried it on for the first time, and the blue lights flickered scanning the area with diagnostics, longitude, latitude and the works.

All of those that can be seen from the mask is also recorded into Tony's server, and is called the _Baby Monitor Protocol_. He can also tracks his son in it.

"Yes! It's working Dad!" Peter said to his father standing opposite him.

"Yeah, and now I have an Iron-baby."

Tony lowered his head in front of Peter and tapped his shoulders. "I'm proud of you bud."

"Thanks Dad! This is like what you see when you put on the suit. So cool!" Peter started to go on the full length mirror to see himself.

"**_I am Iron Man_**." Peter said impersonating his Dad as he said the words.

Tony laughed and smiled adoring the silliness of his son.

"I'm not gonna take this off. I'll design gloves next that looks like your hand blasters!" Peter said excitedly. Clearly, Peter has been the number one fan of Iron Man ever since, and his Dad his number one fan.

"Steady there Iron-baby. How bout we take a break? Want some hotdogs? Let's grab some hotdogs outside."

"Are we gonna fly out there Dad? Let's fly please."

Oh no, he's giving that pleading look again.

"Uh oh. No Pete, that's too fast for a young kid, can't do that. I'm gonna hear again from Pepper."

"Please Dad. Please... I'm wearing the mask, it has an oxygen system right?"

"Of course it is."

Peter's still putting that puppy dog eyes Tony couldn't resist.

"Oh fine. You're gonna put us in a lot of trouble young man. Let's suit up. Wear your Jacket."

"Yay!" Peter jumped in joy. He's going flying for the first time!

"Hang tight, kid."

In a few minutes, Tony suited up and flew up from the mansion, carrying Peter in his arms wearing the mask on. Peter's eyes went wide with excitement and happiness. He's flying for the first time with his Dad! The view from the above is amazing!

They went to the best hotdog joint in the city, and bought it for take out. They then went to the Hollywood sign to sit there and eat, giving them the full panoramic view of the city.

"So how's your first flying lesson?" Tony said as he took a bite.

Peter's eyes said it all. "IT WAS AMAZING! Dad!.. that's - the view, the feeling! That's so much fun!"

"Glad you liked it bud."

Peter took a bite. "and this hotdog sandwich is so good." Peter said sighing happily at his view. He rested his head on his Dad's side while his dad's arm rested on his shoulders.

"Really? Mine tasted weird."

"Huh? but we had the same order."

"Yeah.." That's weird, Tony thought. His taste-buds are in a wrack these days.

"Thank you Dad for taking me flying today."

"Well, I couldn't resist those eyes now, am I?"

Peter laughed, "No, you couldn't."

* * *

Tony finished another suit in a couple of days. It has now been a month. He's been trying to sleep for a fixed eight hour sleeping time but can only get three to five hours. He can't sleep, so he tinker. He's also working on a more mobility on his suit, so he can just suit up anywhere.

"Dad, are you okay?" Peter asked. He heard a barfing sound somewhere and it came from his Dad's room so he went to check.

"Oh God." He felt like he's gonna die. He's dizzy and his head's spinning. Tony's at his bathroom, experiencing the worst nausea ever and he doesn't know why. He's spilling out vomiting everything until he can almost vomit his stomach at the toilet. He just had a glass of scotch last night to induce sleep. This can't be a hangover. Who even has hangover from a glass of scotch? He had a lot of drinks before and never had this worse of a hangover.

"Peter, don't come in here. I'm fine." Tony called. "Go downstairs and eat your breakfast. I'll be there in a minute."

He almost can't stand from the pain. A migraine and nausea. _What the fuck is happening to me?_

"Are you sure? Do you want me to call Pepper and 911?" Peter asked worried. He has a feeling something's wrong.

"No, no. Don't call anyone. I'm fine. I'm sure." Tony tried his best to stand, to wash his face and gargle a mouthwash. Is it something he ate? No, the food from last night's dinner, he had it before.

He fought his way to stand up and headed downstairs and immediately drank lots of water. He sat beside Peter at the breakfast table in their terrace that has a lovely view of the ocean.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Your eyes are red."

"Just eye strain from staring at the computer so much."

"But you don't have it before."

"It's nothing, your Dad's just getting old, bud." Tony patted his son's head. There's no need to worry him more.

"Don't overwork yourself Dad."

"I won't buddy. Don't worry about it, alright?"

"Will you drive me to school today?"

Tony always drives his son to school every morning. Since he came back he wants to make up from the lost time they should have. Now, even if he wants to, his senses are askew from the dizziness. He doesn't want any accidents happening from that.

"Not today, bud. I'll have Happy drive you just for today." He started to call Happy to come at the house.

"Okay."

Tony tried to eat from all the delicious food at the table, but all he can taste is bland nothingness. He almost cursed at his breath. After breakfast, Happy already came at the house to pick up Peter.

"I love you Pete" Tony said while they're at the front door before he let go of Peter to school.

"I love you too Dad.." Peter said smiling but his eyes worried. He hugged his Dad.

"I'll see you later okay. I'll pick you up after school." Then he kissed his son's forehead and hugged him. Waved them goodbye as the car drove away.

He headed to the lab afterwards. He extracted blood from his arm to a vial and put in a blood scanner for blood monitoring.

"JARVIS, check my blood and scan my body. Is it food poisoning? Stomach problems?" Tony waited for a few minutes, it can't be something bad.

"Sir, my diagnosis is that you are experiencing signs of Metal Poisioning, specifically Palladium Poisoning."

"The core." Tony put up the pieces together. He checked the arc reactor and found the Palladium core decaying completely. "It has been eroded by the neutron bombardment, realeasing..."

"Poison, Sir. The core that has been keeping you alive, unfortunately is also the one that is killing you."

"Can we, - Uh, can we run full diagnostics to every known element that can replace the Palladium."

"Right away, Sir."

"Thanks JARVIS."

Tony slumped back to his chair. He can't make sense of what's happening to him. He's alive... he came back, he's home, and now.. he's dying AGAIN? Is it that fast enough? Is that it? He can't leave his son alone again. He can't.

"Is there anyway we can counteract the symptoms?"

"Chlorophyll has been known by its ability to bind to and remove toxic heavy metals from the bloodstream, Sir."

"An antioxidant, right. To increase the quantity of red blood cells, reducing inflammation. Order the finest liquid chlorophyll, JARVIS"

"Yes, Sir."

Tony then began to replace the destroyed Palladium core with a new one he stocked to reserve. He didn't know he's going to need a few more so he began to work with new palladium cores to be stored. He also started the permutations to every known element that can replace the palladium core of the arc reactor.

He can't give up hope unless there really isn't a cure for this.

* * *

"Dude, how does it feel like to be the son of the Iron Man?"

Peter and Ned are drawing sketches and coloring their drawings in Ned's room. Peter visited his bestfriend while Tony and Pepper headed to Flushing to observe the Stark Expo grounds being renovated for a more futuristic design.

"What? Ned, he's my Dad, he's just my Dad to me." Peter said looking incredulous.

Ned looked like a total fangirl earlier when Dad dropped him off at Ned's house.

"Hey, Ned. You're growing up pretty fast now huh. How are you?" Dad said to Ned tapping the boy's shoulders when they went to their house.

"I-Iron Man! Mr. Stark! Hey, um, I'm okay. Super okay." Ned said gushing as if it's his first time seeing Tony Stark.

Peter rolled his eyes. "C'mon Ned, let's go. You're embarrassing me in front of my Dad."

Ned just completely ignored Peter and still stared at Iron Man while handing him a drawing. "Can you sign my drawing of you?"

"Yeah, yeah sure of course. So Peter's gonna stay here a while. We'll pick him up tomorrow." Dad said to him while signing the drawing of Iron Man punching Iron Monger.

"Yeah, No problem Mr. Stark. I'm happy to have Peter here."

"Here you go, kid."

"Wow, Thank you. Thank you Mr Stark." Ned stared at the signed drawing. His eyes sparkled with joy, while Dad patted Ned's head. Meanwhile, Dad talked to Mrs. Leeds for a moment.

"Your Dad's really so so cool, Peter. Can we exchange Dad's?" Ned whispered to Peter.

"You're crazy Ned." and Peter once again rolled his eyes, sighing.

"Okay you two, have fun." Dad said going to them. "Pete, I'll see you tomorrow, okay? I love you bud." Dad said and kissed his forehead.

"Thanks Dad. I love you too." Peter hugged his Dad before his car drove off.

"Okay, let me rephrase the question, how does it feel like to be a son of a superhero?" Ned asked while coloring his new Iron Man drawing.

"Well, it's awesome with all the cool stuff, but..." Ned looked up to see Peter's eyes with a hint of worry.

"I thought it's okay with you? You said your Dad asked you if it's okay with you and you said okay, right?"

"Right, it's okay with me."

"but what?"

"but I don't know, Ned."

"Makes sense, you're always worrying about him. But you don't need to now Peter, do yourself a favor and relax. He's more than alive now you know and he's more than capable of protecting himself and he's going to protect you."

"Yeah.."

"So why're you still worried?"

"Something's wrong about him Ned, and I don't know why."

"Why? Like what?"

"Like his eyes are often red and he's often at the toilet vomiting. It looks like he's sick and he says that he's not. He said his Doctor said he's okay. Sometimes I can feel he's sad. Isn't that weird?"

"That's probably nothing Peter. You mentioned before he drinks alcohol right? Maybe hangover?"

Peter shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah. Pepper always gets mad with him if she catches him like that."

It's been two months now since he first heard his Dad feeling sick at the bathroom and there have been frequent moments when he saw it again like that. His Dad tried to assure him nothing's wrong and he's perfectly okay, but the feeling just won't go away. His Dad's been spending quality time with him since then, they've been to random trips abroad for vacations on weekends. Pepper has been getting upset with Dad not being able to attend work meetings. She always reminds him that he's still the CEO of his company and he needs to be responsible but Dad just kept being stubborn, leaving most of the work with Pepper. They mostly have spontaneous fly out trips that surprises Peter. He can't say he's not loving it, but there' a feeling of why Dad's been doing this.

"Oh, you went to your Dubai house last month right?"

"Yeah what about it?"

"How was it?"

"We rode a camel and Dad almost fell out of it." Peter laughed, he remembered his Dad suddenly went nuts and almost lost his balance when the camel started to stand up suddenly after kneeling, it caught them off guard while the're riding on it's back.

"then we went to the Desert safari riding a 4x4. It was scary but fun! It's almost like falling at the edge of the cliff! The desert is so large, there's literally sand for miles and miles on end. Then we met their King there."

"Whoa. God, you're so lucky. Can I also go there someday?"

"Yeah, we can arrange that. Dad likes you, he'll be glad if you come with us."

"Yes! Then he'll have us flying carrying us in his Iron Man suit!"

"Oh Ned." Peter said as he make a face palm.

They finished their drawings afterwards.

"Oh wait, I forgot something." Peter rushed downstairs. When he came back he's carrying a paper-bag in his hands.

"Here Ned, this one's for you."

"What's this?"

"A birthday gift. Dad and I picked it out."

Ned started to open up the paper bag and pull out its contents.

"Oh my god, Peter." Ned stared in awe of the Lego Set of Iron Man and a set of gloves that looked like the hand blasters.

"Dude, thank you! You're the best!" Ned hugged Peter.

"No problem, Ned."

The next hours was spent building the Lego set of Iron Man and Peter wore his Iron Man helmet the entire time. Ned asked to try it but it unfortunately doesn't fit, since Ned's a bigger kid.

"Dude, that's so cool. What does it do?" Ned saw the blue lights of the screen though even if he hadn't tried the mask.

"It just measures location, tells weather forecast, time. Scans the room, and you can see better in the dark. JARVIS isn't integrated in here unlike in my Dad's"

"and you programmed that all there?"

"Yeah, with a few help from Dad."

"Awesome! Teach me how to Program."

"Uh okay." Peter started teaching Ned the basics of Programming in his computer in which his bestfriend has a difficulty understanding at first. The rest of the night they spent practicing on how to get better at it. Ned has somewhat got inclined to Programming the day after.

Peter somehow realized after that he gave his bestfriend a new found hobby and skillset that may even come at par with his skills someday.

* * *

"All establishments are ready. The DOD is Okay with the opening and I'm sure your speech is ready. The press, guests, the show and list of presenters all lined up and finalized. So far, everything's good to go." Pepper said as they walked along the Japanese styled Garden of the large dome at the Stark Expo. It's the day before the Grand Opening. They're already done visiting every establishment for Opening Day while Peter and Ned are sight seeing with Happy on the Hall of Legacy and Hall of Mobility.

"Thanks, Pepper. It's all coming together now." Tony said as he gazed upon the peaceful garden. The sound of the river waters passing through relaxing him.

"But honestly Tony, for you to run this thing for a whole year is such a waste of money and time."

"Doesn't really matter now. About time we show Stark Industries as a fun and frolic tech conglomerate. Past that terror weapons manufacturing shit, right?"

"Tony, what going on?" Pepper asked. She's been getting stressed out from all the decisions his boss has been doing in his life and mostly she's the one who works and compensate for it all.

"Going what?" Tony asked. He's been drinking his liquid chlorophyll again like his life depends on it.

"Why are you always drinking that thing?

"This? Oh this is Chlorophyll."

"Really? Giving me that excuse for months then I see you at the toilet spilling your guts out from a hangover? and what? to just to avoid your meetings? Then you fly out at the jet with Peter every weekend." She's trying her best not to lose her patience. There must be a reason why Tony's been doing this.

"I want to spend quality time with him Pep. Make sense for lost time. You know that right?"

Tony spend every waking up thanking that he has another life yet to live. Ever since he knew his demise will be soon enough with no clue of a cure yet, he had spent every moment of his life, spending it as much as possible with Peter. Doing the things they've never done before. Going to different places that gives them new experiences. He wants Peter to remember all the good times. They take pictures every now and then even if it's just an ordinary day. He always take a video and pictures of Peter all safely stored in an album.

"I know that, and I'm not saying you avoid spending time with your son, but you're also needed at your own company Tony. I'm trying to run your company and there's only so much I can do."

Tony felt guilt riding over him. He wanted to come to the meetings most of the time but was often times stopped from the painful symptoms he's been getting. He's been drinking almost three liters of liquid chlorophyll everyday, and from that he can keep the symptoms at bay but not always. Aside from extreme nausea, he also experiences fibromyalgia and migraine headaches that worsens by the minute. He still experiences some of that sometimes when his blood toxicity doubles putting on the suit. Over time the symptoms may get worse that may start on his liver or kidney.

"And you're doing an excellent job at doing my job Miss Potts."

"Tony... Really. What's wrong?"

"I got cooking lessons with Peter. Figured I'd teach myself how to cook for him."

Tony tried to sway the topic. He's almost as close to spilling Pepper everything. He's been carrying a burden so hard to accept, everyday he's worried he's just gonna lost it. Everyday he's afraid he's just gonna die without even saying goodbye to his son. He's not even ready. He still wants to see Peter grow up to a fine young man. To see him off to college and one day take over the company if he likes it. To more days with his little one, that's what he wants.

For the past week, Tony and Peter went to a cooking lesson. They're taught by a chef from a famous culinary school. Mostly it's just Tony doing his best to not burn stuff up and not to curse on every slip up. Eventually he got it with practice without burning the whole kitchen down. He can now make omelette's, perfectly cooked waffles, and even a good seared steak.

"What? You hate cooking."

"Well, just for a change. I can cook an omelette now. A perfectly cooked Omelette. You like that?"

"That's great, but seriously, what's going on?" Pepper looked him straight at his eyes, pondering what's going on as if she can read his soul. They stopped at the river bridge of the garden.

"I'm dying." He babbled out unexpectedly. He didn't know he had already said it out loud. Just the way Pepper's eyes look at him have momentarily hypnotized him into telling the truth.

"What?"

"I- uh. Nothing." Tony went back to his senses. Stupid. _I shouldn't have said that._

"You're dying? How are you dying?" Pepper now looked dubious. Does she heard it right?

There was a silence that followed afterwards and Tony sighed. He guessed there's no turning back now. He can't sway the topic no more. Pepper's not gonna let go of it.

"I'm dying Pepper." He finally disclosed.

"You're kidding right?

I mean you just almost died TWICE, and now you're dying... AGAIN?" Pepper can't believe the words she just heard from his boss. The _love of her life_... is dying. Her system can't absorb it. She haven't even told him her feelings yet.

"I have no cure for it this time." Tony sounded defeated.

"You're serious?"

"I wish I'm not."

"Oh my God... Tony." Pepper felt her knees going weak and she quickly grabbed Tony's arm for support.

"Alright, let's sit here." Tony quickly lend a hand and they went to a nearby bench and sat.

"How did this happen?"

"Well, my Arc Reactor has a Palladium core that turns out to be slowly poisoning me. I've searched for every known element that can replace this but there's none so far."

"Are you sure?"

"Uh nope I'm not. C'mon Pep, I'm sure." Tony looked as if he's wondering why she even have to ask.

"That's why - the stark expo, spending time with Peter, your hangovers are not really hangovers?"

"Pepper, ever since I had Peter in my care. I only drank occasionally during events or when I can't sleep. A glass of scotch won't really do that much of a hangover."

"Then why didn't you tell me!" Pepper said hitting Tony in his arms.

"Aw, Ouch Pep! Why-"

"You could've told me!" Pepper almost shouted but her voice broke. She's at the brink of crying already and a few tears have already ran down her cheeks.

"If I knew this was going to be your reaction. I really shouldn't have told you." Tony laughed ad he brushed some of her tears, he doesn't want to see her like this, then Pepper start hitting Tony again while the man just laughed.

"Okay, Okay. C'mon Potts. Calm down."

"How can you.. How can you even laugh right now?"

"You're funny. But seriously, there's no point in telling. and I was hoping I can get a viable replacement before everything turns to shit."

"Does Peter know this?"

"Oh God, No. He can't know any of this. I've worried that little kid too much already. I'm just - I'm not ready Pepper. I can't leave him alone again. Promise me you'll never tell him." His eyes glossed with unshedded tears, his heart always hurts by thought of leaving Peter alone.

"I promise Tony." She hugged him afterwards, giving each other the comfort the both of them needs.

"DAD!" They were interrupted by that loud call and sound of footsteps running towards them with a sight of a little boy ecstatically smiling.

"There's my little spawn." He was welcomed by his father's open arms hugging him.

"I miss you bud." Tony said while hugging his son, sniffing his powder scented hair.

"Look at this Dad! and there are so many Iron Man attractions in here. It's so fun!" Peter had an Iron Man shaped waffle in his hand. "Try it."

Peter feed it to hid dad, who took a bite out of it. He also feed Pepper a bite.

"Hmmm, that's quite good" Tony said and Peter laughed.

"You're so sweet, sweetheart. Thank you." Pepper said pinching Peter's nose.

Happy and Ned then came along. Happy looks exhausted.

"These two's gonna kill me boss. We went around the whole Expo and they never seemed to lose energy." Happy grunted sweating profusely.

"Uh oh, you guys broke Happy?"

"Thanks Hogan, you can relax now. It's my turn for these two."

"Thanks boss."

"Alright, boys, where do you want to go next?"

They spent the rest of the afternoon just going into different attractions of the Stark Expo until the boys got tired. They dropped off Ned first in Queens then went to the hotel they're staying in Manhattan.

"How long have you known?" Pepper asked at the edge of the bed. Peter's sleeping soundly in Tony's arms, just caressing his son's hair. Giving gentle kisses on his head.

"Five months ago."

"Oh Tony, I'm so sorry."

"Yes, I'm sorry too."

"I'll let you two alone. We'll talk tomorrow."

"Thanks for everything Pepper."

* * *

"OH GOD, I can't. I'm not gonna make it." Tony vomited his guts out at the toilet.

"Oh God!" He cried exaggeratedly by the pain of it all, his emotional state gaining control over him. He's laying his head on the toilet from the exhaustion.

Pepper opened the door of the bathroom. They're at a military plane. It is the night of the grand opening of Stark Expo. His big surprise before his Opening Speech. Peter's at the Pavilion waiting for him.

"I'm serious, give me some space. Don't see me like this."

Pepper sighed.

"I told you not to do this and you insisted. There's no turning back now. So, get up." Pepper commanded.

"I can't get through it." Tony struggled to get up. He's wearing his Iron Man suit.

"We don't have time for this. We have to go. Peter's waiting for you." The name of his son somehow gave him motivation to stand-up.

"Oh God, you don't want to see that." He pulled some tissues to wipe his mouth and flushed the toilet, closing the lid. Finally standing up.

"Do I look weird?" Tony asked as they walked, Pepper assisting him carrying his Iron Man helmet.

"You look like everyday Tony. You look like you just came from a hangover."

"Here. Drink that." She handed him his chlorophyll drink and he sat on one of the folded chairs.

"I'm beginning to think this ain't working anymore. God! Why! Give me some-give me some Advil."

"I don't have Advil. I've got Motrin."

"Pepper, there's something seriously wrong with giving a grown man Motrin." Tony said his voice getting higher.

Pepper started to lose her patience. They began shouting at each other quarreling again.

"What! It's a brand name Tony. It's Ibuprofen!"

"I'm out of my cycle Pepper!"

They shouted at each other that looks like a petty fight of a husband and wife.

"For God's sake!" Pepper motioned for Tony to stand up already holding his arm assisting him.

"Abort mission! Tell them to stop! We're dropping!" Tony called shouting.

"We're not! We're not aborting the mission! Do you have any idea the amount of effort we made for the DOD to approve this!"

"Send them flowers." He breathed deeply trying his best to tone down his growing headache.

"We're over the drop zone."

"What?" They locked eyes with each other.

"Yes."

"Let's do this baby." Tony said now determined and Pepper can't help but smile. Their sudden mood swings are their thing.

The hangar slowly opened and the harsh wind blows through.

"I know I can be selfish sometimes and I know I don't say it enough..

but how's my hair?" He said to Pepper leaning her close into his arms.

"You said that before."

"I know but this time I mean it. Do I need more product? You like wind blown look?"

"Yeah, You look good." Pepper smiled at that familiar silliness.

"Okay, give me a smooch for good-luck. I might not make it back."

Pepper instead kissed the Iron Man helmet and tossed it from the plane.

"Go get it boss."

Tony jumped from the plane and said "You complete me!" before he plummets down dodging the fireworks from the Expo.

* * *

**_Author's Note:_**

**_Thank you guys for still reading this. Thank you to those who reviews, favorites, and follows this. I included the Alternate Opening of Iron Man 2, I think it's so much funnier if they included it in the movie. Happy Reading!_**


	9. Chapter 9

Fireworks filled the night sky overflowed by the cheers and joy of the crowd waiting. Peter and Ned are at the VIP box of the Pavilion sitting, having a clear view of the crowd and the stage, munching on gummy bears as they watched his Dad dodge all the fireworks and somersault landing on the stage suited as Iron Man. The crowd cheered and screamed for Tony Stark. As the machines started dis-configuring the suit from his body, his father grinned widely, while the dancers come around him dancing at the lively music. Dad's about to deliver his commencement speech followed by his Grandfather from a video a long time ago. He saw his Dad looked at him and smiled as he started his speech. Peter watched his Dad proudly while wearing his Iron Man mask.

"Please, it's not about me. It's not about you. It's not even about us. It's about legacy. It's about what we choose to leave behind for future generations." Dad looked at him and continued his speech._ He always says that I'm his legacy._

"Peter, do you think one day you'll be the one giving that kind of speech? Stark Expo's gonna be your thing." Ned said to him but eyes still fixed at the stage.

"Huh? No, Ned. I don't know. There's only one Iron Man and Tony Stark, and that's my Dad, this is his thing."

"You're clearly the one he's talking about Peter Stark."

Peter just shrugged.

A few moments later, his Dad walked off stage and his Grandfather Howard Stark, made his speech from the screen. He always wondered what his Grandfather was like. Dad doesn't like to talk about it but he knew that Dad's relationship with Grandpa was the complete opposite of what he have with his Dad. They weren't close apparently and he heard that he wasn't a supportive father. It saddens him that Dad had experienced that kind of coldness.

"Hey boys, like my speech?" An arm wrapped around his shoulders and knocked his helmet gently.

"Dad! That was great!"

"That was awesome Mr. Stark!" Ned said smiling.

"All right. Ready to go home now? Let's loose that helmet now, Pete. I want to see your face."

He took off his helmet, and his curls bounced around. His dad tried to fix his unruly hair before they took off.

"All right, it's a zoo out there kids, watch out. Stick with me and Happy, okay." Tony said at the boys standing closely at their side. Peter's holding Dad's hand while Happy holds Ned at his side. They put their arms around the kids protectively. Happy was leading the way, securing their position avoiding anyone who will suddenly jump on them, while Dad greeted some of the famous people waiting for him and also introduced his son to some of them.

"Come on, kids. There we go." Happy motioned for the exit door and finally they're out without any more people following them. The bodyguards all took care of that now.

"Very mellow."

"That wasn't so bad."

"No, it was perfect. You guys enjoyed that?" Tony asked both kids.

"It was fine." Peter replied. He's used to being introduced to random famous people.

"Look what we got here, the new model." Happy motioned for their ride. It is the new Lotus Evora top-down four seater sports car.

"Hey, does she come with the car?" Dad eyed the woman who was leaning on it.

"I certainly hope so. Hi." Happy greeted.

"Hi. And you are?" Dad asked the lady.

"Marshal. Pleased to meet you Tony."

"I'm on the wheel. Do you mind? Where you from?" Dad assisted Peter on the passenger seat and put on his seat-belt then went to the driver's seat. Ned and Happy are in the backseat.

"Bedford."

"What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you."

"Yeah? You found me. What are you up to?" Dad started the engine.

"Serving subpoenas."

The lady handed Dad a letter and Dad didn't take it.

"Yikes." Aside from the fact that Tony doesn't like to be handed things, he felt embarrassed to be served a subpoena in front of his son.

Happy reaches over and takes the letter. "He doesn't like to be handed things."

"Dad have a peeve." Peter replied.

"Cute kid you got there. You are hereby ordered to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee tomorrow morning at 9 am."

"Can I see a badge?"

"You wanna see the badge?

"He likes the badge." Happy intervened. Ms. Marshal showed him the badge. "You still like it?"

"Yep. How far are we from D.C. bud?" Tony asked Peter.

"D.C.? 250 miles Dad." and they rapidly drove off.

They first dropped of Ned, then went to the jet. Tony doesn't want Peter to stay up late in the car on the way to DC, so they flew the jet instead. It was an hour tops when they landed and got at the hotel.

"What's a subpoena Dad?" Peter asked while jumping on their bed.

"It's being summoned to appear on court." Tony replied drying his hair with the towel, he just showered.

"What for? You didn't do anything wrong." He stopped when his father went to the bed.

"Yeah, I didn't. These politicians just want to mess us. Wanting the suit to be their property."

"They can't do that. It's yours."

"Exactly bud. They can't take it away anyway. I got it." Tony winked at his son assuring him.

Peter laughed. "You're gonna kick their asses tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Whoa.. language young man."

"Sorry, Dad." Peter covered his mouth smiling.

"But yeah, of course I will." They laughed together and Tony hugged his son, kissing the top of his head.

True enough, Tony kicked ass at the senate, proving to everyone that no one can take away, replicate or even beat the suit he made. Peter watched the whole scene at the hotel room since it is being broadcast on National TV. Happy was with him the whole time to babysit. They went back home to Malibu after the hearing.

* * *

"Wake up, Daddy's home." The blue lights flickered to life scanning all the objects in the lab and blue holograms of different prototypes came into view. The four Iron Man suit are displayed from Mark I to Mark IV.

"Welcome home, Sir. Congratulations on the opening ceremonies. They were such a success, as was your Senate hearing." JARVIS opened up a YouTube video of the Senate hearing quickly garnering hits and Tony laughed. _That was fun_. He drank a glass of chlorophyll in one gulp.

"Check palladium levels." He used the Stark Medical Scanner for blood toxicity.

"Blood toxicity, 24%. It appears that the continued use of the Iron Man suit is accelerating your condition. Another core has been depleted."

Tony takes the Arc Reactor out of his chest and the core pops out, rusted again and slightly smoking. "God, they're running out quick."

"I have run simulations on every known element, and still none can serve as a viable replacement for the palladium core."

Tony inputs a new core. It's silver, giving a judgment of just how badly damaged the other one was and replaces Arc Reactor in chest.

"You are running out of both time and options."

Tony stared and observed the blue lines around the reactor on the computer screen forming rather quickly. He put down his shirt afterwards. Every failure to get the right element, he became disheartened but still continue to rise up.

Pepper approached the lab and went to Tony's side, reading the vitals.

"Tony, this is getting worse. You know, you don't have to do this alone. Maybe the Doctors can check." Pepper stared into Tony's eyes.

"The Doctors can't do anything if there's no viable replacement Pepper. Trust me on this. This is something I gotta figure out myself." He stood up and put his hands in her arms convincing her.

"Figure what?" They both jumped startled in surprise. They were both lost in the moment that they didn't notice how light footed the kid in front of them is. Tony quickly closes all the programs running and put the screensaver on which is all just pictures of him and Peter.

"Jesus! Peter, you gotta stop doing that." Tony put his hand on his forehead. _Ooh, that was a close one_.

"Why are you both whispering earlier Dad?"

"Sweetheart, what are you doing here?" Pepper asked.

"I got bored playing video games in my room." Peter went to his bike at the corner next to the cars and started biking around the lab. "You both look like deer in the headlights earlier."

"Of course, of course he already knows that idiom." Tony muttered under his breath.

"Be careful around here Pete, and you still need to finish your homework! You're forgetting it again." He called out to Peter.

"'Kay Dad."

Pepper's phone blinked and she checked it. Her eyes went wide. "Is this a joke? What are you thinking?"

"What?" Tony asked while they both started walking around the lab.

She puts her phone up for him to see it.

"Did you just donate… our entire modern art collection to the…"

"Boy Scouts of America." They both said the same time.

"Tony, please stop with the indecisive decisions already!"

"It's not indecisive. It's a worthwhile organization. I didn't physically check the crates but, basically, yes. And it's not "our" collection, it's my collection. No offence."

"No, you know what? I think I'm actually entitled to say "our" collection considering the time that I put in, over 10 years, curating that."

"It was a tax write-off. I needed that."

"Stop it, Tony. I know you believe you're dying but we'll get through this. You'll get through this. You always do!" Pepper said to him in a low voice, something Peter can't even hear.

"There's still no replacement Pepper and I'm running out of time, and I need to see my lawyers Pep. It's about time I finalize my will."

"You can't give up hope Tony." Pepper said eyes almost pleading.

"I'm not Pepper. I'm just getting it ready, just in case. I need to get it in order for my son." Tony looked at Peter now shooting basketballs at the hologram game.

He started walking again and saw the modern art frame of Iron Man that's just on the floor.

"Wow. Look at that. That's modern art. That's going up." Tony picked up the painting searching where to hang it.

"You've got to be kidding."

"I'm gonna put this up right now. This is vital."

Peter just stared at them, tweaking another idea for his science fair project. U and Dummy was with him now giving him a smoothie and helping him gather the materials.

"Let me tell you. Stark is in complete disarray. You understand that?"

"No. Our stocks have never been higher."

"Yes, from a managerial standpoint."

"Well, if's messy then let's double back." Tony found an interest on the corner of where to put it and went there.

"No, no, no, no. You are not taking down the Barnett Newman and hanging that up." Pepper tried hard to stop him.

"I'm not taking it down. I'm just replacing it with this."

Tony climbed and stood on the counter about to take down the Barnett Newman to put the Iron Man picture up.

"Okay, fine. My point is, we have already awarded contracts to the wind farm people."

"Yeah. Don't say "wind farm." I'm already feeling gassy."

"…and you won't make a decision."

"I don't care about the liberal agenda any more. It's boring. Boring. I'm giving you a boring alert."

He jumps off the counter.

"You do it."

"I do what?"

"Excellent idea. I just figured this out. You run the company."

"Yeah, I'm trying to run the company."

"Pepper, I need you to run the company. Well, stop trying to do it and do it."

"You will not give me the information…"

"I'm not asking you to try… I'm asking you to physically do it. I need you to do it."

"I am trying to do it."

"Pepper, you're not listening to me!

"Pepper, I'm trying to make you CEO. Why won't you let me?" Tony raised his voice so that he would get Pepper's attention.

"What? Wait - What?! Me? What about Peter?" They both looked at Peter now mixing chemicals while wearing protective gear at his part of the lab.

"Look at him, Pepper. He's seven years old. He's adorable and oh how I wish he could just stay like that forever. He's years away from taking over, and I still don't know if he would want to run this. He's like me. He's gets bored with corporate stuff. He likes chemistry. He likes science. **_Peter will always be my heir, my successor, my legacy_**. But until he's ready and really wants this, I want you to run the company."

Butterfingers went to them carrying a bottle of champagne and one sparkling non-alcohol drink with glasses on it.

"Wait- you're not doing this because you're dying right?"

"No Pepper. You're brilliant. You run the company better than me, honestly. Okay?" Tony said holding her arms, it was what Peter also said to him. He poured champagne on the glass.

Pepper sat down, she can't believe it and just stared at Tony's eyes full of sincerity.

"I hereby irrevocably appoint you chairman and CEO of Stark Industries effective immediately. Yeah, done deal. Okay? I've actually given this a fair amount of thought, believe it or not. You're the perfect CEO. Congratulations? Take it, just take it."

He hands her the glass, and Peter approached them and sat at his father's lap holding a glass as well with a non-alcoholic drink. Peter already knew this as his Dad had already asked him weeks ago if it's okay with him, to which he replied "Pepper's perfect for it Dad. She runs the company mostly than you are, you know."

"Congratulations Pepper." Peter smiled and hugged her.

"Thank you sweetheart. I don't know what to think." Pepper said almost in tears. She's shocked, confused, and happy at the same time.

"Don't think, drink. There you go." Tony said and they all tap their glasses and drink to celebrate.

* * *

Tony picked up Peter from school the next day. He and Happy proceeded to his regular workout and sparring while Peter decided to go swimming. He still keeps eye on Peter on the monitor screen from the Gym and JARVIS automatically sends an alert if anything happens.

"The notary's here! Can you please come sign the transfer paperwork?" Pepper announced as she walked inside the gym of the house.

"I'm on happy time." Tony replied and hits Happy's face with his elbow which makes Happy startled. "Sorry".

"What the hell was that?" Happy asked disgruntled.

"It's called mixed martial arts. It's been around for three weeks."

"It's called dirty boxing, there's nothing new about it"

"All right, put them up. Come on."

Tony and Happy both stopped and focused their attention when a beautiful lady walked in. She's a redhead with a beautiful face to match, has the perfect body curve that can lure every man at her will.

"I promise this is the only time I will ask you to sign over your company." Pepper said and the lady brings the paperwork for her to sign.

"I need you to initial each box." The notary gestured to Pepper.

Tony can't keep his eyes off the lady so Happy taps his head with a light punch, not enough to hurt him. "Lesson one. Never take your eye off…" Tony kicks him hard and he goes crashing into the corner of the ring, punching his gear to finish off the sparring.

"That's it. I'm done. What's your name lady?" He asked pointing to the notary while Pepper's still signing the paperwork.

"Rushman. Natalie Rushman"

"Front and center. Come into the church." He motioned for her to come to the ring.

"No. You're seriously not gonna ask…" Pepper tried to stop him.

"If it pleases the court, which it does."

"It's no problem." Natalie agreed casually and started to walk to the ring.

"I'm sorry. He's very eccentric."

Tony pulled up the rope and Natalie enters the ring. She stared at him with piercing green eyes. Tony swigs down more Chlorophyll and stared at her as well, trying to read her. She has the perfect body and face, he thought. One more look and he's probably going to be smitten.

"What?" He asked and Natalie just stared, the corners of her lips slightly smiling.

Tony can't help but slyly smile, feeling a bit of exhilaration. _This woman is something_.

"Can you give her a lesson?" He said to Happy and stepped out of the ring. He saw Peter on the monitor still at the swimming pool.

"No problem."

"Pepper." Tony waked towards her and sits beside her on a chair that just fits both of them.

"What?" Pepper asked still fixed on her phone typing.

"Who is she?"

"She is from legal. And she is potentially a very expensive sexual harassment lawsuit if you keep ogling her like that." Pepper said matter of factually.

"I need a new assistant, boss." He said to her, since she's now the new CEO of the company. He needs a new assistant.

"Yes, and I've got three excellent potential candidates. They're lined up and ready to meet you."

"I don't have time to meet. I need someone now. I feel like it's her." Tony said smiling, he's clearly smitten now.

"No it's not."

"Oh Good God, kid. You're dripping wet." Tony said at the sight of his son coming to him. Peter went to the gym to watch his Dad spar with Happy. He suddenly came up to them just wearing his dry boxers on. His hair still dripping wet. Tony picked up the towel and started drying his hair and back, wrapping another dry towel on his body.

"Who's the lady Dad?" Peter asked staring at the beautiful woman at the ring with Happy.

He sat his son in his lap and hugged him from the back.

"Well, let's ask her. How do we spell your name, Natalie?"

"R-U-S-H-M-A-N." Natalie spelled her name and Tony started typing it the screen of the table. They can use computers on every single part of the house with just a tap.

"What, are you gonna google her now?" Pepper asked annoyed.

"I thought I was ogling her." He brings up Natalie's file on table.

"Wow. Very, very impressive individual." Tony showed the languages she's fluent in and her beautiful pictures.

"She speaks Latin?" Peter asked.

"No one speaks Latin, sweetheart. It's a dead language. You can read Latin or you can write Latin, but you can't speak Latin." Pepper answered.

"Did you model in Tokyo? 'Cause she modeled in Tokyo." Tony pulled up a stunning picture of Natalie in a lingerie.

"That's inappropriate Tony, close that. Peter's here." Pepper widened her eyes already at Dad.

"I need her. She's got everything that I need."

"Need her for what Dad?" Peter asked as they watch Happy talk with Natalie.

"My new assistant, Pete." Tony rested his head on Peter's shoulders hugging him while they watch.

"Rule number one, never take your eyes off your opponent." Happy gestured as he goes to take a swing but she grabs his hand and flips him over hard, legs over his head. A slight moment Happy can't breathe.

Tony and Peter watched in amazement how in a second Natalie knocked out Happy.

"Wow.." Peter murmured and Pepper screamed "Oh, my God! Happy." in a mom voice kind of way.

Tony laughed and stood up holding Peter's hand. "That's what I'm talking about."

"I just slipped." Happy said in defense.

"You did?"

Happy looks like he's in pain but still acts like its normal. "Yeah."

"Looks like a TKO to me." Tony gestured Peter to ring the bell and they high-fived.

Natalie leaves the ring and went to them.

"Natalie, meet my one and only son, Peter." Tony introduced his son, hands on his son's shoulders.

"Hi, Ms. Rushman. Nice to meet you." Peter said formally, clutching his towel wrapped around him. A little embarrassed because the beautiful woman is staring at him and he has no shirt on.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Peter Stark. You can call me Natalie." She bowed her head to level with him and motioned for a handshake in which he accepted.

Natalie then talked to Tony and Peter went towards Happy to check on him.

"I need your impression Mr. Stark."

"You have a quiet reserve. I don't know, you have an old soul."

"I meant your fingerprint."

"Right."

"So, how are we doing?" Pepper came to them smiling and Tony put his fingerprint on the paperwork finalizing everything.

"Great. Just wrapping up here. Hey. You're the boss."

"Will that be all, Mr Stark?" Natalie asked.

"No."

"Yes, that will be all, Ms. Rushman. Thank you very much." Pepper ended the conversation and Natalie leaves and Tony turned to Pepper.

"I want one." He said to her looking at Natalie as she walks away.

"No."

* * *

Staring at the company grounds of Stark Industries, Tony was lost deep in thought on how to solve his current predicament. His blood toxicity is getting high and he still can't find a replacement for it. He stands at his former office waiting for Pepper. He saw the old board of Stark Expo his Dad built just leaning on the wall full of dust.

"What a surprise. You're early! This is the first time." Pepper went inside the office and went to him.

"Well, I miss you that's why." He kissed her on her cheek.

"Really? Yeah, the new job is grueling."

"Let's talk." Tony said seriously that made Pepper feel wary.

"Okay. You're scaring me. What is it?"

"Pepper.. I want you...

Tony stood in front of Pepper, quite hesitating.

"I want you to take care of Peter. Just in case, the worst of the worst happens. I know you'll be a great guardian to him."

"No Tony. Don't. Don't say that."

Tony put his hands on her arms.

"This is difficult for me. So hard, you know that. You know how much I wanted to be with my son until he grows up to a fine man. I love him more than my life. I'll do anything to protect him.

The last will is just a fail safe. I just want my boy to be in good hands. I know you'll take care of him and you'll protect him as much as I do."

Tony's voice broke, he never wanted to do this. His eyes in the brink of tears. His heart felt like it's slowly being ripped apart.

Pepper gulped and look at his eyes with a few tears now. "I will, Tony. Of course, I will." She hugged him comforting his telling it's going to be all right.

"You sure about this?" Pepper asked Tony for the nth time.

"I'm sure Pepper."

Tony finalized his last Will and Testament later on in-front of his Lawyers. In case he died, all of his Assets and Seat at the Board of Stark Industries will be passed down to his son, Peter.

* * *

"What do you think of Natalie, Pete?" The father and son are at the lab. Tony's watching his kid mix chemicals for the glue he's working on for quite some time now.

"Hmmm... She's strong and beautiful Dad. That move at the ring is..."

"Unladylike. Unexpected."

"Yeah. She looks smart too, but..."

"But?" Tony looks up from his microscope. He's observing the tensile strength of the glue. It has become stronger now.

"Um, I don't know, I'm feeling she's something more?"

"Oh, you felt that too. You wouldn't mind if I hire her as my assistant?"

"I don't. It's okay. Wouldn't Pepper be mad?"

"She will, but we can handle her." Tony smiled and laughed.

"You're fishing on troubled waters, Dad."

"and you're getting inclined with your idioms, kid. It's good though, yeah? You're good.

He patted Peter's hair.

"and this is improving, Pete."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Look at this." Dad pulled the data and Peter looked at the hologram showing different calculations of the glue being spread out in a lot of ways.

"Wow." Peter said in amazement.

"This can be useful in a lot of ways, medically and commercially. We'll patent this under your name.

"Congratulations bud. Your first invention." Tony tapped Peter's shoulders. "I'm always so proud of you bud."

"Thanks Daddy." He hugged his Dad. It always feels great when his Dad says he's proud of him and compliments him. He feels the joy overpowering his heart.

"You want to present this at the expo?"

"Too soon, is it?"

"It's not. You'll be my youngest presenter. My legacy, the future of Stark Industries." Tony grinned at his son tapping his nose with a finger.

"Okay, let's do it!" Peter nodded and laughed.

"That's my boy!" Tony kissed his head. He's glad he's not afraid and shy to show and share his talent to the world. This world doesn't deserve the pure hearted and bright mind of Peter's. He too good.

"You ready for the race?" Tony held in his hand his race car hologram in the Monaco Grand Prix hologramed at their front.

"Yes! Is Uncle Rhodey gonna be there?"

"He has a thing and apparently, doesn't want to hangout with me anymore." Dad said in aversion.

"That sucks Dad, I'm sorry, that's both your thing right?" He remembered Dad saying he and Uncle Rhodey used to watch races. The first time his Dad was called by Ms. Agnes, the social worker. They were both on the race track then.

"Yeah, it was. It's all right bud. We'll have fun." They started playing with the hologram of the Grand Prix running simulations on the race track.


	10. Chapter 10

It was a gorgeous Sunday afternoon when they arrived at the Monaco Grand Prix. One of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the world held each year at Circuit de Monaco. Due to its demanding tracks, it is considered a dangerous track to race into. All the rich and famous VIP gather and watch at Hotel de Paris. The people waited with excitement for the long awaited race event of the year. Stark Industries is one of the sponsors of the race and Tony Stark himself owns a race car that will be included in it.

Peter stared outside the window as they drove past their way to the hotel. He can see crowds of people sitting at the benches waiting for the race. It is his first time to be in Monaco and witness the race. They were with Pepper and Happy wearing their semi-formal neutral outfits to match the event. He saw his Father sitting next to him chugging down a green liquid once again. He can sense for months now something's wrong, but kept quiet about it. It is unusual to see his Dad on constant hangovers and almost drown himself everyday drinking the green drink, so he knew Dad's not telling him things. He's just waiting for Dad to say the words. To tell the truth. To really know what's going on. Dad's peculiar decisions of late bother him but are usually blocked by Ned's advice ringing in his head. _There's no need to worry, he's more than alive, he can protect himself._

"We're here." Happy announced that stopped his trail of thoughts.

"All right. Let's go Pete." Dad made his peace sign for the people cheering for him, arms around him then they all went inside. Happy's carrying the Iron Man suitcase in case as a precaution.

Dad whispered something to Pepper, "Just go with it." to which she was confused for a second until she saw what he is talking about. Disbelief overflowed her.

"Mr. Stark. How was your flight?" Natalie welcomed as they stepped inside.

"Hey. It was excellent." Dad said nonchalantly bracing for Pepper's annoyance.

"Mr. Peter Stark. You look very handsome." Natalie leveled with him and smiled.

His cheek flushed. "Thanks Ms. Natalie. Please call me Peter."

"Very well, Peter."

Natalie turned to Dad and Pepper. "A photographer is here from ACM if you don't mind?"

They all posed for the camera smiling, he giggled while Pepper grills Dad with questions about Natalie. _I hope Dad can handle her._

"Right this way." Natalie hold Peter's hands while she leads the way. Dad and Pepper followed and Dad insisted on the corner table he wants, so Natalie talked to the man in charge for it to be reassigned to them.

"Come, Pete. Let's get something to drink." Dad held his hand while he talks to Pepper. They went to the bar and carried him at the high-stooled chair between them.

"What do you want drink sweetheart?" Pepper softly said, always so gentle with him.

"Hmm... I want orange juice."

Dad shot a questioning look. "What happened to your favorite?"

"I had grape juice yesterday already."

"All right. Orange juice and Mimosa's, yeah?" Dad called to the bartender and they were interrupted by a familiar voice. The guy tapped Dad's shoulder.

"Anthony, is that you?"

"My least favorite Person on Earth." Dad turned to the man and sarcastically smiled. Annoyance can easily be observed in his voice and he put his arms around Peter protectively.

"and you brought your kid, I don't think we met. Justin Hammer." Justin gestured for a handshake Peter accepted.

"Peter Stark. Nice to meet you Mr. Hammer." He smiled while Dad watched Justin with displeasure.

Mr. Hammer then introduced the annoying reporter from before, Christine who asked Pepper for an interview as the new CEO. Both women excused themselves.

A photographer came to them and Mr. Hammer put his arms around Dad to which he tried hard to evade like a disease. Peter chuckled watching his Dad's reaction.

"God, that's so awful." Dad snickered in all sense disgusted.

Dad tries to escape, assisting Peter down his chair, and they walked but Mr. Hammer still follows.

"I heard you're a smart kid, Peter. Inventing something at seven years old. Wow." The statement picked Dad's attention. Apparently, news travels fast.

"Um, thank you Mr. Hammer." Peter doesn't know what to say. He's getting uncomfortable with the tension between his Dad and Mr. Hammer. Obviously, Dad doesn't want him getting close to suspicious guys.

"Matter of fact, he can even build better stuff than your attempts of replicating my suit." Dad voiced out proudly. They all sat at a nearby table.

"I'm sure he can. He got it from you anyway. The truth is, I'm actually hoping to present something at your Expo."

"Well, if you invent something that works, I'll make sure I get you a slot."

"Your corner table is ready." Natalie's voice relieved them. Saved by the bell or rather an angel. He carried Peter down his chair and held his hand as they walked.

"Thank God, that's over." Tony exasperatedly said while drinking his Mimosa.

"Relax Dad. You avoid him like the plague."

They both laughed. "I'm just trying to get him away from us, bud. Those guys, you can't trust." Tony gave a menu to Peter. "Here, pick something you want to eat while we wait for the race."

"I'm still full from lunch. Oh, your car!" Peter gazed at the race car on the TV screening the live event.

"Oh, she looks gorgeous." The feed shows the Mechanic's testing the system and still checking the tires.

"Do you want to go outside and see it?" Tony knew his kid had an interest in cars as well.

"Yes please!" Peter's eyes glowed with excitement. He knows a thing or two since he always watch his dad fix and customize one of their cars. He wants to see the car personally instead of just watching the race on TV.

Right then, Pepper sat beside them.

"So how was it?" Tony playfully asked seeing how irritated Pepper is at Christine.

"A rather delightful spread at that. Thank you very much." Pepper sarcastically said holding out the menu now. "So what are you boys up to now?"

"I'm gonna let Peter see the race car, then we'll come back before it begins." Tony started to stand up but Pepper stopped his arm and whispered to him. "Tony, don't do anything stupid. Please."

"I'll try." Tony winked at her and both father and son stood up.

"Dad can we go first to the bathroom?" Peter asked clutching his Dad's suit.

"Yeah. Of course."

Staring at the mirror bitterly, Tony checked his palladium levels soaring higher at 53% now. Sighing at his slow ruin, he buttoned down his shirt to see the lines now enveloping his entire chest slowly getting up to his neck. He buttoned it up before anyone else can see it. An idea he had for a while now, still pushes him. He wants to race, to drive once again before the worst comes. There might not be a next year, and this time, his son got to see it.

The cubicle door opened, and it brought forth a handsome little boy with brown curls and chiseled jaw even at a young age. He carried him so he can wash his hands and sat him at the couch of the bathroom while he dries his hands.

"I was thinking, if I race the track, Pete."

Peter looked up at his Dad confused.

"Like drive?" Dad's not asking permission, he's saying it. And Peter's afraid he doesn't have the power to stop it. Dad's obviously hiding something and he wanted to ask but he can't. He's afraid of what will it be. He wants to know the truth but he's afraid of knowing it.

"Uhuh." He saw Dad's hopeful eyes and knew he really wanted to drive.

"Be careful, please." Peter finally said after a few seconds.

Dad smiled that made him smile too. He knew it was a bad idea but it is as if anything bad's gonna happen. Dad has driven race cars before. He just hope everything goes well. They went outside to see the car and Dad talked to his staff. In a few minutes everything's ready. Dad's already in his racing suit and ready to drive.

"I love you Peter." Dad hugged him before letting him go. They can hear the fans screaming but are blocked by their bodyguards so no one can interrupt them.

"I love you too Dad. Be careful." Peter forced himself a smile and hugged his father.

"I will, Pete. Wait for me, okay?" He said caressing his face.

"Okay."

"Go inside right after the race begins."

Happy came to them afterwards. "Hap, you take my kid to Pepper after, alright?"

"Copy that Boss."

Dad jumped to the barricade after. The cameras surrounded him; he gave them a quote and stepped inside the car. His father winked at him before closing his helmet. A few moments later at the sound of the engines revving, the race took off.

* * *

"Peter- Happy! Ms. Potts been looking for you. Right this way." Natalie said as they stepped inside. Peter got confused as to why Natalie sounded panicked. The entire guests are talking loudly staring at the Television screens when they went to the table.

They watched in horror as a man dressed in orange holding a lightning whiplash walked at the middle of the track.

Peter immediately picked up what's going on."Happy, let's go." He shouted and grabbed Happy's hand startling all of them.

The lightning whips strike the first car, made it fly and crash so horribly at the ground.

"No, no, no. Peter!" Pepper said terrified and stopping him. "Your father will kill me if I let you inside that track!"

He completely ignored her and ran at the car parked outside. Pepper and Happy have no choice but to go after him. They all went inside the car. Pepper knew she cannot drag Peter out now. The kid is as stubborn as his father.

"Go! Go!" Peter cried out.

Happy had no choice but to drive the car quickly.

"Seat-belt, sweetheart." Pepper quickly put on Peter's seat-belt and hers.

"Hang on." Happy crashes the car through a barrier onto the track heading the opposite way to the race cars.

"Dad's car might've been hit by now." Worry shrouded his heart. Panic now creeping up because the man with the lightning whip is clearly here for his father. They might be too late when they get to him.

"Give me the case." Pepper said.

"Here, take it." Happy gave them the case at the backseat.

"Where's the key?" Peter asked.

"It's in my pocket." Happy looked down for a moment to tell Peter where it is.

"Car!" Pepper screamed and they dodged a race car that's about to hit them.

Peter searched for the key in Happy's pocket while driving then quickly unlocked the case. They saw lots of cars sliced into half. As they were nearing, he saw Dad's car already hit.

"Oh my God." Pepper mouthed in distress. They saw the Whiplash man wreaking havoc and his father about to be hit and electrocuted.

"Brace yourselves! Protect Peter!" Happy shouted and Pepper protected Peter's head as Happy drove faster, running Whiplash into the fence and Tony climbing up before getting hit.

Tony jumped down and went to Happy's side.

"Are you okay?" Happy asked Tony then looked at the rear-view mirror to check on Peter and Pepper at the backseat.

"Yeah."

"Dad!" Peter looked up from Pepper's grasp and Tony was taken aback, his eyes widened.

"Peter? What are you doing here?" This is the last thing he wants his child to be into. "What the hell, Happy! Why is my kid here! Pepper! He's not supposed to be here!" Dad shouted at them. He's now scared for his son, as he might get involved on the chaos that's been happening.

"Are you out of your mind? Get in the car right now!" Pepper yelled loudly at Dad.

"Let's get my kid out of here. NOW." He walked over the side of his son.

Dad opened the door on Peter's side. Peter quickly noticed when he saw the Whiplash man move "Dad, look out!" The door was cut into half.

"Oh my God!" Pepper shrieked and Happy started reversing the car then hitting Whiplash again.

"Peter, Football!" Tony signaled the case for his son to give it to him. Peter's about to throw it when he was interrupted by Happy again hitting the car at the fence.

"Stop banging the car!" Pepper screamed at Happy, and Whiplash continued trying to slice the car. Happy's airbag already popped out.

Whiplash suddenly sliced the whole side of the car almost hitting Peter with it.

Peter squealed terrified and curled at his seat.

"Fuck! Goddammit! Not my son!" Tony screamed angrily.

"Come on Pete, give me the case! Please, You can do it!" He said to his son.

Peter, with all of his strength threw the case at his father's feet. Tony stand on it, and the suitcase started to assemble into him. In a second, Tony Stark came to life as Iron Man. The crowd gaped and started cheering as they watched. Pepper's clutching Peter in her arms when Iron Man kicked the car, for it not to be included in the fight. The fight begins and Whiplash's hits Iron Man leaving more damage to the suit but Iron Man managed to pull the lash close enough ripping out the Arc Reactor, shutting off the man's suit.

"You… You lose. You lose Stark." The beaten man managed to say laughing, his mouth flowing with blood as the Police took him away.

The Iron Man suit opened soon after he destroyed the arc reactor, and he stepped outside of it. He came immediately to Peter, checking and carrying him in his arms. He closed his eyes; relief washed over him and kissed his head. "Peter, I'm sorry baby. I'm sorry. You're safe now." He murmured at his child hugging him tight.

* * *

"You can't be that reckless again, Tony." Pepper softly said looking stressed and worried. They are in the jet now on the way to California. The news erupted of the chaos that happened in Monaco. The senate now criticizing Tony of the Arc Reactor technology now being used in bad ways. A technology that was used believe to be far from being replicated now have been worn by a terrorist.

"Why did you let Peter in there?"

Tony put his fingers in his temple massaging it. A headache already forming. They all have been checked by medics after the fight and they're all okay. Except for Tony, who only accepted help for his cuts and bruises. Peter's sleeping in his chest soundly. He never let him go after the incident.

"I didn't. I tried to stop him, but he ran to the car and dragged us with him. Your son was fearless and stubborn as you are. We had no choice. We're running out of time. You needed the suit."

Tony sighed and kissed Peter's forehead. There have been more similarities to both of them as he would've liked. He's proud of his son being courageous but not enough that it will put him in danger. He just wants his son to be safe. It was only good fortune that they arrived on time for him to put in the suit. There are times he regrets that he told the world he's Iron Man. Wondering if they would have had a more peaceful life than what they're having now. His son was put in danger once again because of him and he won't ever forgive himself if something bad happens to him. He was arrogant to think carelessly of the future. He hadn't thought about the future of his son's safety once his secret is out. And now there's no turning back.

"Thank you, Pepper." He knew Pepper will be bombarded with work once they arrived. It will be a mess of sorts. The Stark Industries once again taking a hit of the blame because of him. Pepper has been with him, understanding and supporting him ever since she knew his condition. She's been the perfect companion for everything he's going through. He pondered if he deserves all these people in his life.

Pepper reached out and hold his hand. Getting upset with him would do him no good as of now. He blames himself for what happened and his affliction worsens by the minute to which she knows she can't do anything about it but give him the support he needs and to handle the press and the company for him.

"We'll get through this."

* * *

The stars sparkled as he opened his eyes. The dim lights of his room welcomed him. It's seven in the evening and already dark outside. He's still wearing the change of clothes he wore after the fight. The ocean glistened at the sound of peaceful mellow music. He saw the familiar sight of his room, the glow in the dark stars of his ceiling, his Lego sets displayed, Star Wars and Iron Man action figures, different board games, books and picture frames of him and his Dad.

"Good evening young master Peter. You're awake now. Would you like me to call Mr. Stark.?"

The voice of JARVIS slightly startled him.

"No, Jarvis. Thank you. I'm fine. I'll go downstairs later."

Peter started to get up and he went to the bathroom first to change clothes wearing his pajamas then headed downstairs. The talking voices echoed across the room. He saw Pepper and Natalie talking at their phones busily typing on their laptops. Pepper sounded aggravated, talking to the woman at CNN shown at the TV screen.

He saw Uncle Rhodey coming up from the lab who immediately saw him and came to him. He leveled with him, and hugged him. "Hey, champ! How are you doing? I saw the news." Uncle Rhodey rubbed his arm, a look of worry in his eyes.

"I'm okay now, Uncle Rhodes. Dad protected us." He said smiling. Peter was startled and terrified by the whole slicing thing, watched as his father fought the bad guy. But when his dad carried him, he slowly felt relieved. The assurance of his father that they're safe now calmed him down.

"I heard what happened, that was so brave Peter."

"Dad needed it. We had to be there."

"You're too good for us, you know that?" Uncle Rhodey patted his hair.

"Are you staying?"

"No, kid. I have to go now. I just dropped by to check on all of you. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" He winked at him and hugged him again.

Peter bid goodbye and watched his Uncle leave the house.

He then went to the dining hall and sat there. There are bunch of foods already prepared. He took a bite of his favorite, a peanut butter sandwich. Pepper and Natalie saw him and he waved at them. Moments later, Dad came upstairs and immediately went to his direction.

"How are you feeling?" Dad caressed his face and hugged him, kissing his forehead.

He hugged back and smiled. "I'm okay now, Dad. Your eye."

He cupped his Dad's face examining the side of his eye now in a bandage.

Dad looked straight into his eyes. "You scared me out there, bud. That's brave, but don't go running into dangerous situations even if I'm involved. You can't do that."

Peter just nodded. It was instinct that pushed him to do what he had to do, even for a kid, he can't just sit there and watch as his Dad gets hit by a murderer.

Dad sat beside him eating some blueberries. He observed his Dad's face. He looked tired, stressed, and exhausted. He noticed the unusual blue lines formed in his neck that looks like almost alien like.

"Dad?"

"Hmm?"

"What's that?" He pointed at the lines.

Dad looks like he was caught off guard. "A nasty rash, Pete."

Peter didn't believe it even for a second. "That's not. I know what a rash looked like. That doesn't look good. Are you okay?"

Peter's now worried. He knew what a rash looked like, and the lines forming doesn't really looked like it. He already had a guess of what is it but doesn't want to entertain the thought.

"I'm always okay." He can clearly sense his Dad lying.

"Stop saying you're okay. What are you not telling me, Dad?"

Peter gave his father a chance to really tell the truth now even if he knows he's not ready for it. For month's he had a hunch of what's happening to his Dad, but he's too afraid to ask. He's afraid to even know it, even if he had a sense of what it really is.

Dad came closer to his side tapping his shoulders, assuring him. "Hey, it's nothing, buddy. Don't worry about it."

"Stop lying." He's trying hard not to cry hoping he's just wrong.

Dad kneeled in front of him and sighed. He knew it. Tears quickly formed in his eyes unknowingly.

"No no no, don't cry Pete. I hate it when I see you crying."

The room fell silent. Pepper and Natalie heard the conversation across the hall.

"You don't really have hangovers. Right? The green liquid you always drink, the Chlorophyll, you needed that for blood building, decrease the metal in your bloodstream." It's not that hard to figure out, the clues are all there. But Peter just don't want to believe it. He can't absorb it, not until now that he saw the symptoms screaming at his face.

His voice broke, blinking back tears. "You're dying."

Please... Please tell me you're not." Peter tried to stop himself from sobbing.

Dad's eyes glossed and hugged him, trying to calm him. "Shh... Peter."

"You promised me you wouldn't leave me again Dad. You can't die." His head and heart hurts. He can't accept it. He doesn't want to believe it. But it's the truth. His Dad will die soon and there's nothing they can do to stop it.

Peter ran to his room. He just wants to get away from everyone and not see him like this.

"Peter..." Tony tried to followed his son but was stopped by Pepper.

"Tony, let him go. For now. Let him calm down. You can't do anything about it now."

Tony massaged his temple, and Pepper hugged him. Knowing he can't do anything to stop it, he resigned himself and let his tears fall.


	11. Chapter 11

The screeching sound of the bell rang across the hall indicating lunch time. Some were left hanging for more knowledge but most were relieved and excited to walk out of their classrooms.

"Kids, last exams are next week. Make sure you have taken note of the pointers to review!" Mrs. Connelly called out before her students walked out to the cafeteria.

Peter started to get up from his table, but he was interrupted before he can walk out the door.

"Peter, we all heard about your glue tech. Very impressive. Congratulations. We all look forward on your presentation at the Expo." Mrs. Connely smiled proudly at him. Peter is well known at Webster Elementary School, not just because he's a Stark, but because he's an intelligent young kid. He's always at the top of his class and always wins Science Awards whether for quiz bee or science fair. He learned from the best. His Dad was his first teacher and taught him everything he knew. Whenever there's an awarding ceremony, his Dad always comes and is always present to support him. They haven't finalized yet the date on when he'll be presenting. With all that's been happening, looks like it's going to be put on hold for the time being.

"Oh, um. Thank you Mrs. Connelly." Peter humbly replied. He silently thanked that he's not asked further questions about the incident in Monaco. He was seen in the news almost hit by the lash and carried by his Dad after the fight right in the track but Pepper made sure that the press not push any further on his involvement.

He's walking at the corridor when he saw at his peripheral vision some students looking at him. Since Iron Man is taking a hit from the incident, he's the one taking the heat from all the judgmental looks of some. He's the youngest and smallest kid in their batch since he started grade school early; he's already in third grade at just seven years old. He may be well known for his ingenuity but you just cannot please everyone. There are still some people who envies and are jealous of him because he's the son of billionaire Tony Stark aka. Iron Man. While some belittles him for being a nerd and a dork, a thing so ironic that just cannot be erased easily in the American Culture.

He got his lunch and went to his usual table. A hand tapped his shoulder and saw his friend sat beside him. "So, how's Monaco? I see you're the apple of everyone's eyes again, Peter." His friend sneered biting an apple from his tray.

"I know Charles, it sucks. And it was horrific by the way." He grimaced at his fellow nerd and friend, Charles Murphy. They have similar interest at science that made them friends since the start of the school year.

"It will pass. Your Dad was awesome, dude!" then Charles rambled on how his Dad fought Whiplash or Ivan Vanko. Peter remembered his Dad and the conversation they had last night. He cried his eyes out until his eyes drooped to sleep. His heart still felt heavy the morning after and he felt bad for not talking to Dad at breakfast. He only answered questions asked to him in a monotonous way. Dad must've felt hurt and sad, and now he feels guilty. Today was his Dad's birthday and he didn't even greet him.

"Sweetheart, is there an emergency?" Pepper asked over the phone worried. She must've been wondering why Peter's calling her at school.

"No Pepper, are you busy later? Is it okay if you pick me up after school? Help me pick a gift for Dad? Let's keep it a secret for now, please." He asked sheepishly. He wanted to surprise his Dad. Tell him he's sorry for acting the way he did. He realized crying his heart out and mopping around won't do anything helpful at all. It will just sadden all of them, so he figured he'll support him now instead, help him find a cure. It's what he needed most.

"No problem. I'll call your Dad, and I'll be the one to pick you up. See you later okay?"

"Thank you, Pepper." He smiled hanging up his phone. The rest of the afternoon was spent listening uninterested at his teachers. He had already tackled and studied most of the topics being mentioned so he spent his time doodling and wondering what would be the perfect gift his Dad would like. What would a billionaire slash superhero want for his birthday when he already has everything? If it's just possible, he would just give him a cure. So he can live a long and healthy life. They'll have more time together and he won't be alone again. A tear dropped from his eyes that he quickly brushed away.

He was out the door by the ring of the bell and immediately saw Pepper who hugged him. They went around different shops to see what Dad might like. Pepper already picked out a new watch for Dad. But he still can't find something worthwhile. It was already near dark when he decided he'll just make a playlist of all their favorite songs together which are mostly rock songs and a birthday card with a lovely heartfelt message. They went to Pepper's apartment so he can arrange the stuff. It took him longer but they were out by around eight. They drove their way to the house and as they were nearing he noticed different cars parked out front.

"Did you invite a lot of people to come, Pepper?" Peter asked curious as to why there seems to be a party inside they didn't know of.

"No, it was only supposed to be us and Rhodey like we used to do before." Her brows knitted also wondering what's going on. What did you do this time Dad?

They stepped out of the car and went inside, Pepper holding his hand. Loud music can be heard even from outside and the living room was set up like a party club with a stage and a DJ. Sight of different faces they never knew before welcomed them and then they saw his Dad, at the stage dancing wearing the Iron Man suit clearly drunk as a skunk. He shouldn't be doing this. He held his gift tightly in his hand; it was supposed to be a special evening.

"Sweetheart, why don't we get some air outside? Then maybe a sleepover at my place for tonight. Sounds good?" Pepper rubbed his arm, smiling, trying to assure him it's going to be alright.

His heart sank by what he's seeing. He expected the evening to be joyous and hopeful for them. Just another birthday celebration for Dad where they'll surprise him again, but they were the one who got surprised and thrown. Fighting back tears, he nodded. They were about to go outside when Uncle Rhodey stepped inside the house and came to them. "What's wrong?"

"We're going to go get some air. This is all just inappropriate for Peter." Pepper pointed out to Uncle Rhodey, glaring at Dad.

"You've got to be kidding me." Uncle Rhodes blurted in disbelief.

"I don't know what to do." She frowned shaking her head in disappointment.

Dad's steps swayed out of balance that he almost launched himself at the wine cellar. He felt bad for his Dad, maybe if he just talked to him earlier this wouldn't have to happen.

Anger already seethed through Uncle Rhodey. "This is ridiculous; I just stuck my neck out for this guy. That's it, I'm making..." He's about to go stop Dad but Pepper cut in.

"I know. I know. I get it. I'm gonna handle-" but she was cut off with a loud bang of the beam from the blasters and an ear-splitting sound of shattered glass from the glass waterfall near the stairs. Peter loved that waterfall and thought it was an exquisite part of the house and it was just destroyed it in an instant. Dad was obviously unaware of their presence in the room.

"That's it. I'm going to handle this." Uncle Rhodey marched off to the lab angrily while they gaped shocked by what just happened. The loud cheers from the people followed after and Dad just laughed as if nothing happened. Another girl grabbed a bottle of champagne, threw it up and another beam blasted shattering it, its contents spilling out. Pepper protected him and they stepped off backwards to not get involved.

"Dad!" He screamingly called out, he can't take it anymore. It needs to stop.

He got his Dad's attention who stopped whatever he's doing and is now looking at him. "Peter." Dad mouthed, but the noise from everyone just keeps getting louder.

Just then, an unpainted Iron Man suit came into view. "I'm only gonna say this once. Get out." Uncle Rhodey announced threateningly. The helmet slips down and everybody rushed to leave the house except him and Pepper.

Uncle turned to Dad. "You don't deserve to wear one of these. Shut it down!"

"Goldstein." The DJ appeared hiding from the stage. "Yes, Mr. Stark?"

"Give me a phat beat to beat my buddy's ass to." Dad laughed mockingly and slips down his helmet.

Oh great. Now they're gonna fight.

Uncle grabbed hold of Dad from behind but Dad takes off backwards destroying the sauna up to the gym. "Now, put that thing back where you found it before someone gets hurt." Dad backed down but Uncle started throwing things at him.

Dad hits him with weights "Sorry, pal, but Iron Man doesn't have a sidekick." They continued fighting and hitting each other from different rooms. Pepper started questioning Natalie frantically blaming her for what's happening but stopped short when the two plummeted from the ceiling. "Peter!" Dad called out seeing him, defending another attack from Uncle.

"Dad! Uncle Rhodes! Stop! You're destroying the house!" Peter yelled furiously and Happy went to them "Get out of here!" dragging them out of the house. The fighting didn't stop as they walked back to the car. He can't come home now by the looks of it and Dad's gonna take another set of drawbacks from his actions. They were already a kilometer away from the house when they heard the loud explosion from it. A few moments later he saw the silver suit take off and flew to the sky.

* * *

"Listen, it's our position that Stark has and continues to maintain propriety ownership of the Mark II platform." Pepper pointed out to their head lawyer, Burt, as she listened to him lamenting on the issue of the government's hold of the suit. It has been two days now since the grand birthday bang and Stark Industries takes in the aftermath once again. As the CEO, she's taking care of it or more likely fighting for Tony's rights for the suit, at the same time being criticized for her qualifications.

Gazing upon the company grounds, massaging her temple, she wondered when will the problems going to end. Since when did she had a vacation, she can't even remember. All this work is going to make her old. Peter's been staying with her since and Tony called the morning after to know where Peter is but never even bothered to visit his son. The man's already gotten through her nerves, if she even ever sees him, she's really going to shovel something at his head to make him think straight already. She's taking care of a man-child more of, rather than the actual real child, Peter. It has always been easy with Peter. The boy has been the most understanding and selfless child she ever met. Tony doesn't know how lucky he is. How Tony even managed to raise a kid that good and not make a mess of him, she doesn't even know.

And speaking of the devil, the man appeared at her door carrying a box of strawberries being stopped by her secretary. "Miss Potts, Mr. Stark is here."

"No… Burt, listen to me. Don't tell me that we have the best patent lawyers in the country and then not let me pursue this." She continued debating while Tony looks over at his boxes at the corner containing his things from the office and the Stark Expo model at the corner.

"Well, then, tell the President to sign an order. We'll talk about it at the Expo. Hammer's giving some presentation tomorrow evening. Will Tony Stark be there?"

He pulled up a chair and sat on it "Will I? I'd like to be."

"No, he will not. Bye." She hangs up the phone and glared at him.

"How about Peter's presentation?"

Her brows creased and she frowned at the question. "You know, you're the one who's supposed to be handling that. Coaching him and helping him prepare. You haven't even seen him yet. What are you even doing here?"

"I was just driving over here, and I thought I was coming to basically apologize, but I'm not."

"You didn't come here to apologize? I'm really gonna hurl something at your head right now, I think. I am trying to run a company. Do you have any idea what that entails?" Her nostrils flared from anger.

"Yes."

"No you don't. I'm tired, Tony. I understand what you're going through, but time and time again you screw things up. People are relying on you to be Iron Man and you've disappeared, and repeatedly, all I'm doing is putting out your fires and taking the heat of it. I am trying to do the job that you were meant to do."

His eyes brought a mixture of guilt and misery. "Pepper... I apologize. I'm sorry."

"Don't. Don't apologize to me. Apologize to your son. You let him down and you're letting your emotions control your behavior cause you think this is the last one, this is the end. I'm dying. I should do this. I should do that. But you know what you need to do? You just gotta accept and take responsibility. Do the right thing, search for solutions. Stop making rash decisions then let other people take in the consequences. Start taking responsibility for your actions." Pepper finally admitted. He has to hear it. Unexpectedly, she felt as if a huge weight has been lifted from her shoulders.

.

.

Silence creeped in. Tony looked down defeated, his hand on his temple. All of what Pepper said rhymes true, slowly sinking in and is now hitting his core. He's been an asshole for the past week or rather months. Letting Pepper handle all the work. Not taking the responsibility and consequences for his actions. He knew what he was doing but not really, he didn't care about what happens next. And He's guilty on all of it. What he needed was the talking, and Pepper gave him that. All that's said hitting him bulls-eye on where it needs to be, and it's just what he needs to get his head straight to the right direction.

Natalie entered the room. Tony was stunned to see Natalie or rather Natasha Romanoff still spying on his back. His former assistant turned double agent. An Agent of SHIELD. What is she really? Her portrayal of a personality or character is unprecedentedly deceptive. He hadn't even noticed the whole time the whole dishonesty. You can never guess what she really is, or what she's up to. "Wheels up in 25 minutes."

Happy walked in "Anything else, boss?"

"I'm good, Hap." He answered but Pepper replied at the same time. Oh, he's not talking about me.

"I lost all of my kids in the divorce." He chuckled and looked over to Happy who shakes his head sending him signals to just back off.

He shot a sardonic attempt to initiate a conversation while Natasha glared at him. "Are you blending in well here, Natalie? Here are Stark Enterprises? Your name is Natalie, isn't it? I thought you two didn't get along?"

"No. That's not so. Bring your strawberries with you and while you're at it, maybe you and Natalie could discuss the matter of the personal belongings." Pepper stood up and started to leave with Happy. He forgot that Pepper's allergic to strawberries and bringing it to her just shows how insulting it is on how little he pays attention.

"I'm surprised you can keep your mouth shut." Natasha retorted snarkingly at him.

"Boy, you're good. You are mind-blowingly duplicitous. How do you do it? You just tear things… You're a triple imposter. I've never seen anything like you. Is there anything real about you? Do you even speak Latin?" He asked taunting.

Natalie spoke something in Latin while picking up all the files.

"Which means? Wait. What? What did you just say?" He asked curious. Geez, that's incomprehensible. Nobody even understood that.

"It means you can either drive yourself home or I can have you collected." Then she left.

"You're good." Tony called out.

He stood up and throws the strawberries in the bin. He glances at the model. The original model of the Stark Expo that can be seem from his father's pre-recorded videos. "Everything you'll need in the future can be found right here." The voice of his father, Howard, ringing in his head. He pulled off the cloth and looked at it through one eye. That's it. The key to the future.

* * *

Sighing as he closed his locker, Peter made his way out of the school grounds.

"See you next week, Peter!" Charles tapped his shoulder and ran out waving at him. He waved back smiling. Thank god it's friday. He'll have a weekend in New York once again as he's coming tomorrow with Pepper. They're going to visit the cemetery and have some fun at the Expo. It's nice that he has friends here in Malibu but he sometimes wish he has Ned as his classmate, it's different when you get to open up and talk to your bestfriend. He still hasn't seen his Dad ever since the party and he already misses him. He's upset about the house for a short while but it has already faded, it can be fixed anyway. He's not mad at all but just sad. He still worries about the affliction of his Dad. He remembered Pepper's words yesterday.

"If I just talked to him at breakfast, he wouldn't have to do those things." Peter murmured as they were eating a late dinner at Pepper's apartment after the explosion.

"Peter, look at me. It's not your fault. Don't you dare ever blame yourself for what's happening with your Dad. He's a grown man, he should have thought of his actions. Let him figure it out. Let him learn his lesson."

Pepper's right. She's always right anyway. Dad's gonna figure it out.

He was nearing the door when he saw a crowd gathering there. What's going on?

He made his way out and saw his Dad leaning at his favorite Audi R8 Spyder. Dad's wearing his usual sunglasses and leather jacket as to not spark attention. But clearly his presence just screams attention. Most of the people tried hard not to stare but they just can't help it. That's Iron Man right there. Happy didn't mention Dad's going to pick him up. Dad immediately spotted him and waved at him grinning. The crowd turned their heads at him as he walked towards the car. This is embarrassing. Dad immediately hugged him, kissed his head and he hugged back.

"I missed you, bud. C'mon let's hop in."

He huffed out a breath of relief once they took off. "I missed you too, Dad." He looked at Dad who looked so much better now. That's a good sign.

Dad pulled out a box of donuts from the back.

His brow creased but he can't help but smile at the peace offering. He remembered the time they usually hangout at the big doughnut on the roof of Randy's Donuts, eating there and just watching the sunset. "Really Dad?"

They stopped at the red of the stop light, "I know you're still mad at me, and it's been a while since you had doughnuts."

Dad looked at him tenderly. "Look Pete. I'm sorry. I'm sorry about the whole- you know, my birthday... and hiding up stuff about the palladium."

"What happened to you?"

"I needed to figure out a riddle before seeing you."

"And did you? you know, figure it out?"

The stoplight turned green and they drove again. Dad only smirked.

Peter let out a laugh. "Of course you did."

He never have to ask anyway. Dad always finds a solution for everything.

Dad ruffled his hair grinning. "I missed that laugh."

He took a bite out of the choco-peanut doughnut. "Where are we going?"

"Home. I want to show you something."

Within a few minutes they arrived home. The house was a complete mess. Glass, dust and dirt shattered everywhere, the walls completely destroyed, and holes from the ceiling to the floor. The walls black from the explosion and all of the things just completely out of place.

"Ugh. You broke the house Dad." He missed their house. It now looks like a haunted resort. The only thing left unharmed is their rooms.

"My bad. I know." He followed his Dad at the lab.

"Wait- is that a particle accelerator?" He gazed at the big and bulky cylindrical system set up at the lab.

Peter was wide-eyed beyond words. A particle accelerator at a lab slash garage? Who can even do that? "How did you manage to do all this Dad? What for?"

"For this." Dad pointed out smiling at the new arc reactor with a triangle prism. "I created a new element and it is a viable replacement for the Palladium. Thanks to your Grandpops who theorized it and left clues and a blueprint."

"You synthesized this in a day? Here in the lab?" He just cannot believe it. A new element! and Dad just admitted it casually like it's nothing. If his dad can create an arc reactor in a cave, of course he can create an element in a garage.

"You're- Oh my God. That's exceptional! You're amazing Dad! Wow!" He hugged his Dad. "This means you're going to be okay right?"

"Right." Dad laughed and they hugged each other blissfully.

* * *

"Sweetheart, we'll just be at the Pavilion if you want to join us." Pepper said as they stepped out of the car. They just arrived at the Stark Expo. Ned was supposed to be with him but he has a family gathering out of town. He doesn't want to see Mr. Hammer's presentation. The man will just brag again about his tech so much but when you actually see how it works, you will realize how inferior and crappy it is. He decided to just explore his favorite attractions with Happy.

"Okay. Maybe I'll drop by there later, if Dad decided to go." Dad said he'll be here; we just don't when what time. The new suit was still being prepared for the new arc reactor when they left New York. And Dad said he might drop by here once it's finished. They spent quality time together that afternoon; he watched the video of his Grandpops to Dad. Grandpa really loved Dad, he just has a rather unpleasant way of showing it. He also found out that Grandpops was a co-founding member of SHIELD, so cool. Dad also told him about his house arrest where he's monitored by Agent Coulson, and about Natalie who turns out to be Natasha. He kept quiet about it as Dad said so. Dad coached him as well for the presentation which will be tomorrow. His invention really coincides with the Stark Expo mission. Better living through technology.

Pepper and Natalie made their way to the Pavilion while Happy and him made their way to the Oracle exhibit.

"Come on Happy! Faster!" He shouted at Happy who's now slightly out of breath. Peter is an agile kid who loves to run and Happy really doesn't like running distances, he prefers golf carts and Segway's.

"Slow down! We just ate a waffle!" Happy called out of breath and almost cursed at the kid. They stopped for a while earlier to eat a waffle then they're off again somewhere. He's always exhausted whenever he's at the expo with Peter.

They're only a short distance from the Pavilion when an intense crashing sound came from it followed by loud gun shots. The whole crowd of people inside and outside every establishment panicked and started running everywhere on different directions looking for an exit. Happy looked to where Peter was standing only a few meters away from him but instead he saw a bunch of people shouting and running. He cannot find the kid. He was given strict orders not to take his eye out of Peter and now the kid is nowhere to be found.

.

.

.

Tony takes off from the Pavilion full speed. He was right; Ivan Vanko was with Justin Hammer. And now Rhodey is being manipulated by the suit he has no control over.

"Jarvis, break in. I need to own him." The system needs to be overridden to stop the drones.

"Yes, Sir." Tony flew off more upwards; the drones and Rhodey followed chasing at his tail and started shooting fires at him on target lock which he tries hard to evade.

"JARVIS, locate Peter. Where is he?" He already saw Pepper earlier at the Pavilion but Peter isn't there.

"I cannot locate Peter, Sir." His phone must not be with him. The only way he can locate his son now is if he had the Iron Man helmet on.

"Call Happy."

"Boss" Happy answered immediately sounding frantic.

He managed to kill some of the drones by evading on different establishments surprising them. "Where's Peter? Is he with you?"

"Boss. I lost him." Happy apologetically replied.

"Shit. Get back at the car. I'll find him and drop him off there." He ended the call.

"JARVIS, where is he?" He flew off trying to get the flying droids from the civilians. He saw the other drones now shooting fires below. He needs to find Peter.

"I have already located him, Sir." The coordinates filled the screen and he immediately went at the course of the location. The shooting drones were firing at everyone now and people are screaming. And there he saw his son's small frame wearing an Iron Man helmet and hand blaster gloves that glows. He flew faster as he saw the drone targeted his son. He watched as Peter holds his hand up as if blasting an attack on his hand dauntlessly. He can sense no amount of fear; his son's not even shacking. So brave and so fearless, unbelievable. He managed to come in time before the drone can even fire and blasted the drone out of existence.

"Nice work, kid."

"Dad!" Peter was startled. He immediately carried his son and flew on the way to the Pavilion to the top-down car. Happy and Natasha already waiting for them. He dropped off Peter at the passenger seat next to Happy.

"Get out of here. Go!" He shouted and Happy immediately stepped on the gas.

.

.

.

A blast came from where he was standing knocking off the drone about to attack him. For a moment, he was surprised that a blast came from him suddenly, but he saw something better, Dad came to save him.

He looked up proudly at his Dad who just took off to save the day once again.

"Where are we going now?" He asked as Happy drives the car. The top of the car already closed soon after he arrived.

"We're going to Hammer Industries." Natasha answered at the back.

He was about to look at the back when he was stopped by Happy. "Don't." Happy instructed. He shot a questioning look.

"I'm changing Clothes" Natasha answered.

"Oh." Peter said half embarrassed.

"Happy, I need you to watch the perimeter when we arrive. I'm gonna enter the facility and take down the target." Natalie said and he saw Happy taking a look at the rear-view mirror. Bad Happy. They nearly slid off to another car almost causing an accident.

"Geez, Happy." He chuckled comically holding out a laugh.

"Watch the road."

"I got it. I got it."

"Peter, stay in the car when we arrive."

A few minutes later they arrived at Hammer Industries. Natasha and Happy immediately went outside and as instructed he stayed inside the car. They were arguing for a while but then Natasha opened the door followed by Happy. This is lame. He wants to see the fight. He got nothing to do here. He doesn't even have his phone with him so he cannot play and the music playing at the radio sucks. How many minutes has it been already? Oh, it's only been five minutes and he felt as if it's already been a year. He checked outside and there's not a single soul so slowly he went outside the car. He's just going to take a look. He went inside the door and saw Happy taking down a guy punching hard but way past him a lot of guys are already down. He watched as Natasha uses some SHIELD tech then punches and kick, taking down five guards in one fell swoop at the same time. He gaped at how amazing she fights like a perfect assassin. He's never seen anything like her. By the time Happy was finished she has already took down all of the guards.

"I got him!" Happy said but sees what Natasha has done.

Peter let out a laugh then Happy finally saw him "We told you to stay in the car."

"Sorry, but I got bored already."

"Oh screw it, let's go." They followed where Natasha went while Happy was holding his hand.

Natasha kicked the door but Vanko wasn't in there anymore. She went to the computer and Peter watched as she overrides and reboot Uncle Rhodey's suit successfully in just a few seconds. Wow. She's almost at par with Dad.

"Thank you very much, Agent Romanoff." Dad complimented.

"Well done on the new chest piece. I am reading significant higher output and your vitals all look promising."

He smiled at it. Finally, the diagnostics went well. Dad found the cure. "Yes, for the moment, I'm not dying. Thank you."

"She's unbelievable Dad!" Peter fastly said slightly squealing.

"Peter? What are you doing there?"

"Don't worry Tony. We'll take care of him. You got incoming. Looks like the fight's coming to you."

"Be careful!" Peter called out worried.

They cannot see the whole fight but they hear Dad and Uncle Rhodey and see the heat signatures coming. The drones came but Dad and Uncle beat them all up.

"Heads up. You got one more drone incoming. This one looks different. The repulsor signature is significantly higher."

"That must be Ivan Vanko." Peter mumbled.

They struggled fighting the lash but found a way by shooting at each other and the middle explodes. Unfortunately for Ivan, he is in the middle. Vanko dies but then all the reactor starts flashing red and so do all the drones.

"The drones are rigged to blow. Get out of there." Natasha notified them.

"Pepper?"

"She's still at the Pavilion! You need to save her!" Peter exclaimed. They can't let something bad to Pepper. She's the next thing he has as a mom and Dad obviously loves her. They just don't know how to talk about their feelings. Dad takes off. Pepper is by a drone. Thankfully, Dad managed to grab her before everything blows up.

"Looks like our work is done here, little Mr. Stark." Natasha smiled patting his back.

"Agent Romanoff, that was sick! You need to teach me your moves!" Peter said in his high-pitched voice which he always does when he's excited.

"Sounds lovely, we'll see. We'll ask your Dad, but I'm afraid he pretty much won't allow that." They both laughed and Natasha rested her arm on his shoulders as they walked out the door.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**That's it for Iron Man 2 Arc. Hope you guys liked it. Still got some ideas up my sleeve but still struggling on how to write it. For the reviews, favorites, and follows, you guys keep me going. Thank you! Anyway, I revised Chapter 1, the plot is of course the same. It just keeps bugging me how sloppy it was LOL so I made it a little bit better. And I've updated the Title again. Yes! Sorry for being peculiar. Noticed there are so many titles already for the Legacy and I just want this to be different. ****Thank you for still reading!**


	12. Chapter 12

"Ironic, isn't it?" Peter uttered as he eats his favorite ice-cream - cookies and cream, while happily watching his Dad and Uncle Rhodes being given the Medal of Honor by Senator Stern. The man has been the number one politician who is against his Dad having the Iron Man suit and now he's the one presenting a medal to Dad for saving the expo, the people and the military from a lot of crap. It has now been a week since the catastrophe and the Expo has already been closed since then.

"Well, Director Fury certainly has a sense of humor." Natasha chuckled as she watched with Peter. They're sitting at the couch of the Malibu house that has recently been fully renovated. Nothing seemed to have changed except for the new luxurious furniture. She went by their mansion today to visit the Stark's and bid farewell to them, she's off to another mission tomorrow. But since Tony's going to DC, he asked her to take care of Peter after school while he's gone for a few hours. Pepper's still in New York with Happy as her bodyguard and Mrs. Eleanor is out of town. Peter has at some point grown onto her; the kid is not hard to like, so she didn't hesitate to babysit for a while.

They just finished a self-defense lesson at the Gym earlier. Peter won't stop giving her those puppy dog eyed look, so she finally gave in and taught him some defense moves which are totally safe for kids, ones that Peter haven't already knew. He quickly picked up what she's teaching since Peter has a background already of basic self-defense and a few martial arts, he still has a session every week at the house. They're now relaxing at the living room where the awarding was replayed in the news.

"He's the head of SHIELD, right? Dad said he looks like a member of a secret boy band. But if he has a patch on one eye, then it's more like a Pirate."

They both laughed. "Yes. He does, but don't tell him that."

The awarding ceremony ended soon after.

"Let's watch a movie. What's your favorite, Agent Romanoff?" Peter excitedly searched for a movie at their database.

"I told you, you can call me Natasha, Peter. Don't you have homework?"

"It's movie night since it's a Friday and we just finished our last exams. It's our vacation already."

"Oh, that's great. I don't have, actually. Let's just pick what you like." Natasha doesn't really have much time for entertainment because she's always out on missions. Her childhood hasn't really been that fabulous either for those kinds of things. It was the complete opposite of what Peter's experiencing. Being raised from the Red Room opened her eyes early on the cruelty of the world.

They agreed to watch Harry Potter and ordered Pizza which arrived thirty minutes after.

"So, I heard you're now all moving to New York." Natasha looked at Peter before she took a bite of the pizza. After the incident at the Expo, Pepper announced at a Press Conference that after all the damage has been repaired; the relationship between Stark Industries and New York would make another step towards the future, through the construction of the Stark Tower.

Peter swallowed his pizza first before answering. "Not really. We haven't decided yet. Dad doesn't seem to wanna let go of this house since we have a lot of memories in here."

"Do you want to?"

Peter looked down sheepishly thinking. "I don't know. It's like half and half. I miss New York and I would want to study there, but I don't want to leave Malibu either, this house is really special for us."

Natasha smiled and he looked at her. "You know, this house will always be here even if you are in New York, Peter. And I think even if the house is gone, the memories live with the one's you love. Home is where your family is, isn't that right?"

Peter slowly smiled; his eyes sparkled admiring her wisdom. Is there anything this lady can't do? "You're absolutely right. Thanks, Natasha."

They spent the next two hours watching the wizards and witches of Harry Potter and Natasha have unexpectedly enjoyed it. It has been years since she watched a movie out of enjoyment rather than just for a mission. A few minutes later, Tony arrived. Peter immediately went to hug him and he carried his son, hugged and kissed his head.

Tony smiled as he saw the movie. "I see you're enjoying watching wizards with Agent Romanoff while I'm gone."

"She's great, Dad. I love her!" Peter whispered to him. He knew Peter adore Natasha, got a little kiddie crush perhaps.

"Oh you love her now, huh." Tony loudly said smirking while Peter's face turned crimson. "Dad! Not like that!"

Natasha chuckled and went to pick up her bag, "You're just in time, Tony. I better get going now."

"Thank you for babysitting my little kid, Agent Romanoff. Anything I can do to repay you, let me know."

"It's no problem. You got a good kid, Tony. You sure he's yours? The difference is uncanny." Natasha teased.

"Hey, I'm a changed man." Tony retorted in defense and she just laughed patting his arm. "I'm kidding."

Tony put his son down and she turned to Peter. "I had a great time, Peter. We'll do it again next time, okay?" She winked at him and opened her arms up for a hug.

Peter hugged her back. "See you soon, Natasha. Good luck on you mission. Say Hi to Agent Coulson for me."

"I will." She then gave a quick hug to Tony and walked herself out at the car waiting for her.

"So what did you and your crush do all day?" Tony teased his son grinning as they watched Natalie walked out.

"Dad! She's not my crush!" Peter objected but his face is completely saying the opposite. Tony just laughed carrying his son as they talked and headed upstairs for a good night.

* * *

The sound of gentle waves crashed into her senses as she opened her eyes. Pepper takes in the glistening blue ocean and shimmering sunlight, making the white sand sparkle like thousand tiny jewels. The vacation she's been longing for a year since Tony's abduction finally came. The gorgeous clear blue silhouette of the sky and the ocean relaxed her whole well-being. Tony's frame came into view and she lovingly smiled. He has maintained his physique over the years; muscles are still intact bulging with a few abs to spare. He looked fresh in his usual sunglasses and has been a whole lot better now since the new prismatic reactor in his chest. Tony walked over and stopped in front of her.

"Like what you see, Honey?" He grinned coming to her taking off his sunglasses.

"Looking good Mr. Stark, and I sure like it a lot." She smirked and Tony closes the distance between them and leaned in for a kiss.

The company has been doing better than ever now with Tony's help. After a week of the ground breaking of The Stark Tower, Tony surprises her with a vacation to the Maldives.

He laid beside her as they take in the view. "This is paradise, Tony. I love it. Thank you."

They're staying at the luxurious Conrad Maldives. The private villa and the island have given them the most exquisite view and accommodation. Clear aquamarine waters and white sand. A Paradise on Earth.

"About time I gave you a vacation after all these years." Tony kissed her forehead. True enough, the man has been doing right to her and to Peter ever since the whole dying drama and Expo disaster. He has set his priorities straight becoming a changed and better man. He helps her with the company and is mainly in charge of the construction of the Tower. No more stupid surprises and decisions.

They took in the sight of a handsome little boy moments later who's running to them; they smiled at each other with knowing looks. "We got incoming."

Peter jumped into Tony's lap. "Ow! That hurts." He winced while Peter laughed.

"Dad, let's go build a sand castle!" Peter excitedly exclaimed.

"Alright, let's go!"

They were about to come up when Pepper cut in. "Hold down your horses boys. Come on Peter, let's give you first a sunblock and you too Mister." She put in the lotion all over Peter's, while Tony puts in his own.

"Thank you, Pepper." Peter kissed her cheeks and hugged her while Tony kissed her lips then they hurried down the beach. She took pictures of them and later joined in to swim into the lovely ocean.

They spent the next day swimming with Whale Sharks. Peter was amazed the whole time as he got close in contact with the gentle giants. The underwater truly feels like a different world. They were so happy the whole time that they didn't want to leave the place anymore. They dined in the underwater restaurant of the island and the whole time they felt like inside an aquarium having the best dining experience. They watched as the different species of sharks and underwater creatures came into view and Peter was delighted the whole time. Tony looks over at Peter and Pepper with heartfelt eyes, mentally taking a picture to remember forever. Happiness and gratefulness enveloped him to have these moments with the one's he loved.

* * *

They came home to New York after their vacation, where they were once again welcomed by work. Tony bought a lavish New York Penthouse Apartment in Midtown East to have a place to stay, since he'll be taking more trips to New York taking care of the Tower. It has a panoramic view of Manhattan and a clear view of Stark Tower being constructed. It is still Peter's summer vacation before the school year stars again in two months. The Tower was set to be done in less than a year. His whole team of contractors and engineers are the most reliable and smartest people. With his guidance and tech, it will be the most advanced self-sustaining building in the world.

Tony glanced over to Peter in the studio as they were being prepped for the photo-shoot.

"You ready, buddy?" He asked Peter who looks up at him and gave a half-smile. "Dad, I'm nervous."

He leveled with his son and he held his hand and kissed it. He smiled while caressing the kid's face. "Hey, don't worry, you'll do great."

Peter's glue tech has already been patented in Peter's name and ever since the news came out, the media has been waiting for the presentation. But since the expo is no longer in the picture, they instead agreed to introduce the tech on a famous scientific journal- "Science" Magazine. Soon after, different famous media magazines asked for the Stark's to be on their cover. Tony asked Peter if he wants to, and surprisingly the kid agreed. Peter has now been on four different magazine covers with his Dad. They graced Time, WIRED, New Yorker, and Rolling Stone. They posed together in different locations for different magazines wearing their business outfits, suit and tie while Tony's hand in Peter's shoulder. There's a cover that they're in Tony's new Audi R8 model together smiling handsomely wearing their sunglasses and one with Peter Stark just alone in a cover looking charming and dashing in his natural brushed look and chiseled jaw.

Their powerful presence can be felt in the room that there's no question they're truly related as Father and Son. The headlines red, **"Peter Stark: Boy Genius**", **"Wunderkid: Peter Stark Invents at Seven Years Old.**", **"The Heir of Stark Industries"**, **"The Stark Legacy"**, and **"The Stark Scion"**, which includes exclusive interviews with the Father and Son. While Tony Stark aka. Iron Man has been awarded again by the Time Magazine as Person of the Year. His revelations and courageous acts as Iron Man made him the most influential man in the world and Pepper Potts has been the Top 1 Most Influential Woman of the Year that graces the cover as well.

They were back again in the Malibu mansion after weeks of photo-shoots at New York. They're already moving to New York after another one last out of the country before Peter's first day of school at Midtown School of Science and Technology. Tony's going to miss the mansion since it is where he had his firsts with Peter; it is the house where Peter grew up, it is also where he grew up. They had so many special memories but it's not going to be gone, the memories are in their mind and hearts, and they decided to go to Malibu every summer and winter when it gets too cold in New York. He also knew that even though Peter loved Malibu, his eyes sparkled differently whenever he's in New York. The kid loved the city of concrete jungle.

Tony looked over the magazines that has just been launched and beamed proudly at it. They looked like a family that no one wants to mess around with. He came upon the solo cover of Peter and smiled. His kid gracing the cover following his footsteps. He has also been on the cover of various magazines when he was child because of his early inventions. Peter's features have been a mixture of him and Mary, but mostly Mary. The natural mixed brown and black curls, he got the color of his eyes, they got the same smile. Tony can't help but recall the conversation he had with Fury at the mansion after his fight with Rhodey.

"I'm surprised you're the one who knocked off Mary. I never thought you as the one who would be careless." Fury sneered laughing while Tony's eyebrows creased.

"You're not the only one who got surprised. Anyway, what do you know about their last mission?" Tony asked curious. He's been wondering for years what mission will be that dangerous that Mary came to him in jitters to let him know that he has a son.

Fury grimaced. "What mission?"

"Mary said she has a mission to take care of before the plane crash."

"I don't know what you're talking about Stark. They're just consultants of Shield. They are our scientists, not field agents."

Then why did Mary lied to him? He's now growing more curious as to what's going on. "Then what do you know about her death? Why is it so sudden?"

"It was an accident Stark." Fury stated but he can sense a lie in his tone.

He threateningly glared at Fury. "You're lying. What are you not telling me? This is the mother of my son we're talking about, Fury. My Son."

There was a short silence that came afterwards. "Look, all I know is that, Mary came to SHIELD in order to protect her son most of all. Apparently, she has this research that's been coveted by some of her former fellow scientist in CIA. She applied to SHIELD when she was still pregnant and asked for protection, in return I asked for her services and knowledge as a consultant for us. She met Richard Parker while working in SHIELD and he's the one who took over protecting her and your son, at least until both of them went dead."

"You think they were murdered?"

"That's not impossible."

"What kind of research is this?"

Fury widened his eye at him. "Hey, you tell me. Mary mentioned you helped her with this a long time ago."

He was pulled back into the present when Peter nudged his arm, looking curiously at him. "Dad, you were spacing out. Did you hear what I just said?"

"Sorry, bud. What? What did you just said?" Tony stood up from his chair at the lab and went to his son and patted his head.

"We're already packed for Thailand. Pepper's wondering if you're also already ready?"

"Oh right. Not yet. Come on, help me pack up." They headed upstairs, parking the questions filling his head for now.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Guys, I love it when you give reviews. Thank you! I removed the years from Chapter one, cause the year the movies are released is hella confusing from the MCU timeline when the events happened. This story will follow the MCU timeline. Thank you for reading!**


	13. Chapter 13

Tony glanced around his home; it's their last day at the Malibu house today. He walked at the living room where Peter's favorite toys are still laid out like a playground. Different board games and Lego sets are still at the table, stuffed toys at the couch.

"Ow. Ow. Ow... Arghh.. God! Shit." Tony whimpered in pain as he stepped once again on a Lego scattered around the floor. Stepping on Lego's annoyed him to bits ever since Peter was in his care. The kid loved the tiny little pieces of death and he has no choice but to concur.

"Peter!" He called out. "Your little death traps are still scattered here in the living room. Let's pack these up. Come on." In a few minutes, Peter comes running from upstairs.

"He- He- Hey, buddy. Don't run at the stairs." Tony sighed and watched as Peter comes to him. "Okay. What did we talk about the Lego's?"

"Oops." Peter whispered.

Tony picked up an empty box and went to Peter. "Uh uh, not Oops."

"Pick and Clean up Toys after playing." Peter said and Tony raised a brow looking at all the toys in a mess.

"Sorry, Dad." Peter mumbled then smiled sheepishly as he started picking up all his toys and putting it in the box.

Tony smiled and brushed Peter's hair. "Good kid, don't forget the next time." This wasn't the first time Peter forgot to clean up his toys but still the kid still manages to do his kiddie chores at the house. He helps set the table and clean up after, make his bed now, pick up his toys, and put his dirty clothes in the hamper.

Tony walked towards the kitchen. Peter's early drawings when he was four years old are posted at the Ref kept by magnets. There's baby pictures of Peter, first pictures of them together smiling happily, Peter's first perfect quiz, his first Valentine letter to Tony saying "I love you Dad." in big letters. Tony smiled at all the happy memories posted in it. Tony picked up Peter's baby picture when he was just one year old. He sometimes wishes he could've been there to see Peter when he was still a baby, to see him start to crawl and walk. His first words, first smile, and first laugh. He started putting up all the stuff in a small box. All their personal important stuff is going to the Penthouse. In a week, after their trip abroad, they're going to stay in New York for good. He was about to put the box at the front door when he saw the wall near the stairs they used to track Peter's height every year on his birthday from when he was four years old. He looks at Peter now, and smiled. How fast a child grows.

"Tony Stark is many things; Nostalgic is now one of them." Pepper suddenly uttered to him and hugged him from the side.

Tony laughed a little. "I am now, haven't I?" Pepper laughed while Tony kissed her forehead and they started helping the little boy pack up his stuff.

* * *

The blazing heat of the tropical sun in Bangkok welcomed them as they headed through their first day of Business. Tony and Pepper have multiple meetings with their subsidiary company, who handles Stark tech in Thailand for the impending release of Stark Phone in the country and all over Asia. Since they still have two weeks before Peter's first day of school, they figured to let the little kid come with them and have a little vacation after the business agendas.

"Dad, when are we going to go out? It's boring in here." Peter scowled as he went to his father's lap who's relaxing on the couch of their hotel room after a day of meetings.

He's massaging his temples as Peter climbed up to him and rests his head on Dad's chest and arms around him. "Have you had no fun with Happy?"

"Happy's rarely fun; he's the opposite of happy. He's Grumpy, Dad."

Tony laughed with the sentiment and brushed Peter's hair. "Silly boy. Did you talk to Ned earlier over the phone?"

"We had a video call. He's now in Paris with his Parents still in their European Tour. He says Hi to you. We agreed to just meet at the first day of class."

"That's nice. Okay, we have one last meeting tomorrow morning, and then in the afternoon we're going to see the elephants at the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary, sounds good? I know you like that."

Peter looked up at him at his eyes gleamed with excitement. "Really? Yay! Thanks Dad!" and he hugged his Dad while Dad kissed his head. "Anything for you, kid."

They arrived at the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary that afternoon. They decided to visit the sanctuary instead of seeing elephants being used for comedic and entertainment purposes. The Elephant Jungle Sanctuary is an ethical and sustainable ecotourism project around Thailand that cares about the welfare of Thai elephants. No elephant riding, no hooking, no circus tricks. Elephants are retired from performances or rescued from cruel owners.

They were welcomed by the tribe and they wore the traditional and colorful Karon costumes. Peter's eyes widened with glee and he giggled as a baby elephant came close to him. They were given bushes, fruit, and twigs so they can feed the gentle giants. Random elephants came to them and they all feed them. Their eyes gleamed and they're so happy for the whole new experience.

"Hahahaha! Oh my God, Tony!" Pepper laughed hard as she saw Tony being sprinkled with mud by one of the elephants and now he's fully bathed with it. They all went to the mud bath with the elephants and she knew how Tony used to be a germaphobe, not even wanting to handshake with people he doesn't know, having a Purell always, but now seeing him, dirty and face scrunched, she just can't hold in her laughter. Peter laughed at his father as well. In the end, Tony just laughed with them and had a really wonderful time.

* * *

Peter was switching channels on their hotel room the night after, when he saw something strange. "Dad, look!" He screamed that made Tony ran out fast from the bathroom still having his toothbrush on his mouth.

"What? What's going on? You okay?" Dad asked in incomprehensible tone. Peter laughed as he saw his Dad and when Tony saw he's okay, he went back to the sink again to spit out and gargle, then he returned to his son. "Look, Dad. What's that?" Peter pointed at the TV screen, and there they watched the footage of a green-skinned, big and muscular monster fighting another monster with an even uglier appearance. The headline calling it the "Harlem Terror".

"That's- Wow. That's a green rage monster." Tony's eyes widened as he stared comprehending what's happening. The footage replays and the green one won the battle roaring angrily. "Good thing we're not in New York."

"They're calling it the Hulk."

"Well, the shoe fits. Looks like his anger can't be contained." Tony turned off the TV and went to bed.

He hugged his dad's chest. "Looks like he's fighting the bad guy."

"If that's true, then that's good. If not..."

He looked up to see his father. "Then what?"

"Then I'm gonna have to stop him."

He slumped back and rested his head on Dad's arm hugging him, closing his eyes. "I hope that never happens."

"I hope so too, kid." Tony kissed Peter's forehead before they snoozed off to sleep.

* * *

On their third day, they went to Bali and had a day tour. Visiting Uluwatu Temple and the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. The sights were majestic but the scrunching heat of the sun made the trip a little less comfortable. They walked along the Monkey forest that's surrounded by trees and has around 700 monkeys all over.

"Dad!" Peter shrieked as one monkey came close to him. Panic was written all over his face. Tony turned to his son who is a little farther away from him. Peter loves the gigantic gentle species but is afraid of small crawly creatures such as monkeys, spiders, and insects.

"Relax, Pete. Don't move." Tony instructed as he walked close to his son while and immediately carried him. Peter hugged him tight never wanting to let go. "It's okay now, bud. I'm here." He assured Peter who still looks scared. "You didn't say you don't like monkeys."

"I thought I liked them until they stared at me like they're going to eat me."

Tony laughed. "They're not. Look... They don't harm humans unless they get threatened." He assured but still Peter doesn't like it and clings unto him more. There are also many insects around the place and that made Peter more uncomfortable.

"Tony, maybe we should go now." Pepper said while she checked on Peter. "You okay, sweetheart?" Pepper asked while she rubbed his back.

"It's itchy." Peter scratches his arms and their face worry as they saw some red mosquito bites on his arms and legs. Red patches are also already forming on his neck from the heat and humidity.

"Damn it. Let's get out of here." They hurriedly went at the car to the hotel and gave Peter a bath and some ointment for the bites. Tony looked calm but he was terrified of what happened, it's his first time to see patches and bites on Peter's. Their houses are always clean from insects and even in Peter's school he doesn't get insect bites. His mind started to overthink of the diseases his son might get if they stayed there any further so he immediately asked for the jet and the morning after they flew right back to New York.

* * *

"You think he's gonna be okay?" Tony asked as he gently brushed his son's hair, looking at him while he sleeps in his chest.

"He's okay, Tony. The bite marks already faded and his temp's normal." Pepper holds his hand and looks at him trying to assure him. "Hey, it's going to be okay."

The sound of phone ringing interrupted her and she looks up at her phone but there's no one calling. "It's not mine." She glanced over at Tony's phone in the corner, and she raised a brow for him to pick it up but he doesn't even have any interest to do so.

"Answer it. I've got a kid."

She glared at him but then smiled when she saw the caller id. "Oh, it's Phil."

Tony's forehead creased. "Who's Phil?"

Pepper answered the call and Tony looks over at her frowning. "We're still on the jet, on the way to New York. Okay, Tony will meet you there. Bye." She hangs up the call.

"It's Agent Coulson. He'll meet you tomorrow when we landed."

He gave her a scrutinizing look. "Since when is he Phil?"

She chuckled. "It's about Harlem."

His expression dulled. "Hey, I thought I'm off with their Avengers Initiative."

"He never said it's about the Avengers Initiative. Maybe, they just need you."

"They can't afford me."

"Oh no, they can't." She smiled knowingly. She knew how Tony can be stubborn but when it's about doing good for others, he will never hesitate. Ever since the kidnapping, a lot of things changed. Tony may be arrogant but he's never self-centered. He will do what is right, he will save people and especially his loved ones, no matter how impossible it might be. She knows this and Peter knows this. Contrary to popular belief, he's not the selfish and egotistical person many thought him out to be. He may not be your typical self-sacrificing hero, but he can be the hero that everyone needs.

* * *

Tony turned his chair to Agent Coulson at his office at the Penthouse. "We need you Mr. Stark. The council wants Blondsky to be released and be added into the the Avengers Initiative. They see him as a war hero. We can't let that happen. We need you to convince General Ross to refuse releasing the Abomination into our custody."

Tony reads on the report laid out the his screens moments before answering.

"And why me?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Your skill set is specifically what's needed for this to be a success." Phil knows how Tony Stark was well known for his disdain for authority and how successfully he manage to offend and annoy anyone who wants to undermine him.

"Well, I thought I'm not part of the initiative."

"You're not. You're our consultant."

His expression hardened. He's still hung up by not being part of the Avengers. He continued to read on the file of Bruce Banner and was amazed. The amount of gamma-exposure should've killed him. And the Abomination is clearly a devilish out of control monster. More than he'd like to admit, Coulson is right. The abomination shouldn't be a part of the initiative.

"Okay, but I'm gonna need you to babysit for a while."

"No problem."

.

.

.

"To be honest, I enjoyed today. More of like a day-cation. I haven't gone in one for more than a year now." Phil said as he eat a spoonful of ice cream looking through The Pond of Central Park overlooking the trees and skyscrapers. When he was asked to babysit, Phil thought of movies or board games, like what Natasha did. But he didn't expect to be walking around the Park enjoying the sights. Peter biked earlier and they even had a look at the park zoo. It was a gorgeous afternoon and summer is nearly ending.

"Why? Don't you take a leave?" Peter asked beside him as they sat on a bench. Different families and couples can be seen walking around. Most were kids and tourists.

"We're pretty much preoccupied with the missions. Doesn't really have time for that."

"Where would you like to go if you had the time?"

"Relax at the beach. Tahiti, maybe."

"It's a paradise in there, we have a Villa in Tahiti. Just let us know. Dad will fly you out there." Phil glanced over at Peter and smiled. What a thoughtful kid. Natasha lamented on how good Stark's kid is and he knew this early on, they had a few chats before his father's revelation as Iron Man. He noticed some of the people are taking side glances at them, probably noticed that the kid is Peter Stark.

Moments later, they saw Tony's figure in a suit and Peter stood up and ran directly to his father. Tony grinned, opened his arms and carried his son.

Phil saw how Tony's expression changed when he saw his son and he went to them smiling. "Looks like the plan worked, Mr. Stark."

Tony smirked. "Surely did, Agent Coulson. I have apparently annoyed the hell out of Ross that I had to buy the Bar. Blonsky will remain in his cage."

"Thank you so much, Mr. Stark. We owe you."

"No, that's okay. I guess I'm already paid with Natasha for her babysitting. Thank you for keeping an eye again at my son."

"Always a pleasure. I have to go now." They shake-hands.

"Bye, Agent Coulson." Peter gave Phil a quick hug "I'll see you soon, Peter. I had fun. Thank you." He looked at Tony. "Mr. Stark." and walked into the car waiting for him.

* * *

Tony started updating the Mark VI the next day on his lab at the Penthouse. It's still the same size of the lab he has in Malibu. It just appears slightly larger now because the cars are parked in the garage. He's working on the water and electricity resistance of the suit as well as the Unibeam of the arc reactor. He noticed the lab was strangely quiet. That's odd. Peter's usually perky and excited when it comes to his new tech, but he looked over and his son's just lying on the couch back on him.

"You alright in there, Pete?" Tony called out asking while he makes projections on the blue holograms, but to his surprise there's no response. Tony stood up curious to check what's happening and walked over to his son. "Hey, buddy. Are you okay?"

"Dad, why is it so cold in here?"

Tony's brows knitted, the room is just at its normal temp. Peter sit up from the couch. "I feel weird, Dad." Peter tiredly said, his eyes drooping and Tony felt his son's neck and forehead burning up. "JARVIS, read Peter's vitals."

"Temperature at 38 degree Celsius, Sir. It appears Peter has a fever."

"Come on, bud." Tony carried his son out of the lab to his room and laid him on the bed. He caressed his hair looking at him worriedly. "Why haven't you told Dad you're not feeling well, Pete?" Peter just closed his eyes, and started pulling the comforter on him. Tony kissed his forehead before heading out to cook a porridge soup for Peter. It's not his first time taking care of Peter having a fever. He knows what to do already, but he can't help but feel anxious about Peter getting sick all of a sudden. Why now? They've been at the lab all day and he feels well. Perhaps, he should've started paying more attention. Tony can't help but blame himself again.

When Peter first had a fever a few years ago, he didn't know what to do. Pepper and Rhodes weren't even there to help him so he had no choice but to Google and ask JARVIS on what are the steps to take care of a sick child. The cooking lessons also became helpful as he can now cook Porridge without it tasting like garbage.

"Peter, baby, you need to eat before we drink some medicine." Tony gently assisted Peter's head as he sit up laying his head on the headboard. "I don't want to. I want to sleep Dad. My head hurts." Peter grimaced as if he's about to cry.

"I know, Pete. But you need to drink your medicine so your head won't hurt anymore, please?" Tony kissed his son's temples then started feeding Peter small bites of the porridge. He drinks the medicine syrup after. Tony lay beside Peter curled up in the cold, securing the comforter to keep him warm. He hugs his son caressing his hair as he monitors the fever to get down. After an hour, he noticed Peter started to sweat so he immediately changed his clothes. Tony felt Peter burning hot again two hours later and he vomited all he ate including the medicine. He luckily managed to pull the basin near him before Peter can vomit into the sheets. "JARVIS, temp."

"39.5 degree Celsius, Sir." That's not good. Fear slowly crept up on him. He stopped the panic slowly seething. He needs to calm down. He knows another way that worked before. He immediately went to the bathroom to prepare the lukewarm water. Tony started carrying Peter to the tub.

The fever is still burning Peter up as he shivered while Dad carries him. He felt like his eyes are burning and his head feels like it's about to split open. Every movement feels he's being crushed with pain. It's nothing like he ever felt before. "Dad, it hurts." Tears are already forming in his eyes. "Dad, please. It hurts all over."

"We're going to have a lukewarm bath, baby, okay? I'm sorry but we need to break your fever." Tony gently laid Peter at the tub, took his clothes off and watched as Peter slowly relaxes and calmed down. A few minutes later he pat him dry with a new set of clothes, made him drink lots of water and some medicine again. Temp's down to 37.5 now and Tony felt relieved as his son nodded off to sleep, he didn't notice that he nods off into unconsciousness as well.

"Dad…" Tony slowly awakened by the sound of Peter's low voice. He opened his eyes to see Peter shivering delirious than it did before. Terror overtook his face. He checked Peter's eyes, it is now red. His whole being went alert and his heart thud nervously. He saw some rashes now forming on his arm. Peter's breathing became ragged. This can't be happening. He's already better a while ago. He already did everything that worked before to break Peter's fever. Why is it recurring all over again?

"JARVIS?"

"40 degree Celsius, Sir."

"Shit." He forgot to remind JARVIS to wake him up if the temp goes higher. "Call 911."

He had no choice; he had to seek professional help now. All the symptoms just points out that something is going horribly wrong. It is not just an ordinary fever anymore.

"Emergency Services are on their way now, Sir."

Tony carried Peter in his arms covered in blanket as they waited. "It's going to be alright, baby." Tony whispered to his son, kissing his head. Tony closed his eyes, silently wishing and praying for everything to be alright. Within five minutes, the ambulance arrived, and another five they arrived at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Doctors and nurses rushed to them and he watched Peter whimpered in pain as the IV went through to his veins. The nurses asked him to wait for a while as the Doctors continued to check. There are a lot of times he's been scared for his son's life being put into danger. But seeing his son now, scared him most of all. Tony couldn't help but just cover his mouth as he closed his eyes, afraid for his son's life.

"Mr. Stark?" A kind voice from female Doctor came to him an hour later. "I'm Doctor Palmer. I'm one of the Doctors taking care of Peter Stark." Tony stood up and they shake hands. Doctor Christine Palmer is the Chief Resident Doctor of the ER that night. It is her final year of residency in New York-Pres, and she's already recruited by Metro-General for her fellowship next year. The ER buzzed to life when the famous Stark's rushed in an ambulance. Her main specialization is Neuro Surgery but there was no Pediatrician on deck and she had training of Emergency Med, she had to step over immediately while they wait on the Pedia on call.

"How's my son?"

"We managed to bring his fever down now, but it already compromised his immune system. His symptoms all points out to the flu but we found antibodies that link this all to a Dengue infection. Has your family been to a tropical country lately?"

The mosquito bites, goddammit. He's now mentally taking note never to fly Peter to a tropical country again. "We've been to Thailand."

"He already developed respiratory distress in his lungs, but we managed to help him breathe better now. Keep the infection from it and the rest of his internal organs. Symptoms for dengue fever usually occur four to seven days. It's good that you called, for him to be taken here before the symptoms worsen. Without medical help, symptoms can be life-threatening that can lead to shock, internal bleeding or even death. We'll be monitoring his temperature and prevent him from getting anymore complications."

Tony felt his knees going weak, he brushed his hair and covered his mouth. This wasn't supposed to happen. They've been lucky that Peter was rushed at the hospital before it's too late, but if not, his kid might be fighting for his life right now, and he can't take that. He can't live with that. He can't live without his son.

Dr. Palmer patted his shoulder tying to assure him. "Your son's going to be alright now, Mr. Stark. We'll make sure of that. He's already in his room. I'll walk you in."

* * *

**Author's note:**

_Don't read this note if you still haven't watched Endgame. - __I'm still mourning and my heart still aches. __Endgame crushed me, and all the death.. I still cannot accept. __I just feel sad af. __It was the most epic and amazing movie of all, but just thinking about it feels like being sucked into a dark pit of grief. Tony Stark and Peter Parker are my favorite MCU characters and I love them so much. He may be gone and it was the most heartbreaking thing, but I just tell myself, he will forever live in our hearts and minds, in our own Universes._

_**Writing this story is like taking a trip down memory lane of the MCU. **__**Thank you so much for still reading. I appreciate all the reviews, favorites, follows. Thank you.**_


	14. Chapter 14

Peter slowly opened his eyes at the sight of white walls of his suite at the hospital. The smell of disinfectant lingered all over. Different fruits, flowers, and cards placed on a table. Then he saw Dad sleeping beside him in a chair holding his hand. He gently brushed Dad's hair, his face looks ash-fallen, and he looks tired. What happened? He can only remember the grueling headache and pain all over his body; the memories are grogged out like a blur. He noticed there was an oxygen nasal cannula helping him breathe and he removed it. Dad suddenly moved, waking up now.

"Daddy..." Peter tried to say happily but his voice came out hoarse. Dad went beside him, and kissed his forehead "Thank God you're okay now, love."

A small smile crept on his face, it's the first time Dad called him_ love_. "You look tired, Dad. What happened?"

Dad caressed his face and laughed a little. "You're the one in the hospital, and you still worry about your Dad. You silly. You had Dengue infection from the mosquito bites in Thailand. Your fever always reoccurs for the past two days, you're always asleep. The infection is fully gone now since last night, you're okay now, baby." Dad grinned, a tear escaped in his eyes which he brushed off quickly.

"Dad, I'm sorry…" He shouldn't have been sick. Dad wouldn't have to be worry so much and be tired taking care of him.

"Hey, don't. Why are you even saying sorry, buddy? If there's anything, it's my fault, we shouldn't have been there, and I should've put an insect repellent lotion on you."

Peter laughed lightly. "We didn't know that's gonna happen Dad. It's okay now." Their foreheads touched and they smiled.

The door suddenly opened and came from it a song of Happy Birthday. It's the last week of August, and its August 29 already. Pepper's holding a cake, Ned with his Parents, Happy, nurses, Dr. Palmer and some doctors came in singing smiling happily with balloons and gifts in their hands, Peter's eyes sparkled as they came close to him. "Happy 8th Birthday Peter..." There were all worried for him, visits him everyday, and prayed for his recovery.

Dad happily smiled arms around him "Happy Birthday, my son." and Peter closed his eyes as he made a wish and blew the candle. Pepper, Ned, and Happy hugged him after as they celebrated the rest of the day of Peter getting better.

* * *

"You nervous?" Tony glances at Peter as they drive on the way to school which is only a few blocks from the Tower and the Penthouse. They can actually just walk but he cannot risk them getting disturbed by fans and paparazzi's.

Peter looks up at him. "Slight."

It's Peter's first day at Midtown School of Science and Technology. He would've picked a more advanced private school but the kid insisted Midtown Tech because his bestfriend, Ned is there. He finally agreed since the school has a good reputation teaching gifted students and science enthusiasts. Plus it is only a few blocks from their place.

In a few minutes, they arrived and got out of the car. A few students, parents, and by-standers stared at them and at the car in awe. They got out and Tony holds out Peter's hand before letting him go. "You call me if there's anything wrong, okay? Anything, and don't forget to reapply your repellent spray during lunch."

Peter frowned. "But Dad, it's sticky, and it's not summer anymore. We're in New York."

"We can't be too careful, right?" He caressed Peter's hair. He's bothered Peter lost a lot of weight from the infection. He can't run distances now because he gets tired easily. He also looks skinny even though he regularly eats healthy food. He's worried about his health; he can't let anything like that ever happening again.

"Come on, give your Dad a hug." Peter hugged him tight and smiled. "I love you, Dad."

"I love you, kid. Don't overtire yourself. I'll pick you up later." He kissed his forehead hoping his kid's going to be okay and watched as Peter get into the front doors of the school before heading out.

.

.

.

"Peter, I can't believe we're classmates already!" Ned exclaimed and hugged Peter as soon as he saw him at the front door.

"I know, right! Finally!" Peter beams as they did their bro fist handshake, and went to their classroom.

Midtown Science and Technology has large facilities that houses elementary, middle, and high school halls. Most of the students are intellectually gifted with a keen interest in Math and Science. Peter felt uplifted, it's so much better than his last school; his intellect is at par with his classmates. No one looks and bothers him because he's a Stark. Most of his fourth grade classmates are still two years older than him though so they're bigger and taller but that didn't change the way they treat him which is just like an ordinary person. Basically, most if not all were nerds which is cool and that relieves him, and he has his best friend whom he can rely on.

The months passed by quickly and everything has been well since then, until one particular day when Peter correctly answered a basic chemistry question that Eugene Thompson got wrong. Eugene scowled at him and there are a few times the same thing happened. Eugene always prioritizes speed over accuracy, quickly answers before even checking his solutions while Peter always answers correctly in his stead. Ever since then, Eugene got the nickname "Flash" from his classmates.

"Dude, don't push it." Ned whispered to him while laughing after Peter once again effortlessly answered a question Flash got wrong.

"Hey, I can't help it. They always ask me after him." Peter looked over and sighed as he saw Flash who's now mouthing the words "You're dead, Stark." without sound at his direction.

When Gym class came, there are drills for the Basketball lesson they need to do. Coach Murch went for a roll call before starting.

"Parker?" Flash asked Ned curious that Coach went for "Peter Parker Stark" earlier.

"It's his middle name from his mom's married name." Ned answered while Flash smirked as he watches Peter.

The drills started and just three laps from their running warm-up around the Gym, Peter tiredly stopped, catching his breath. He misses being agile and strong, he always runs and bikes before. Now he can't even finish a lap without tiring easily. Coach insisted he only do half of what they're supposed to do mostly focusing on light activities because of his health. Dad already informed Coach and the Principal to not give him strenuous exercises that can impair his lungs.

"Come on, little Parker!" He saw Flash smirking and running painlessly right past him while he pants. His brows knitted. What? _No one calls me Parker. Parker is my middle name, my last name is Stark._

"I'm Peter Stark, Flash." Peter said as he finished his last drill.

"You're not when you're like that." Flash stopped throwing the basketball to his partner and comes to him.

"I'll call you a Stark when you're as strong as your Dad. Oh wait, you got zero chances of that ever happening, so." Flash shrugged and tapped his shoulder. "I'll see you around little Parker."

* * *

The Starks moved in at the newly constructed Stark Tower a month before the installment of the last piece of the Stark-Energy Reactor. The top three floors are all Tony and Peter's skyscraper penthouse space, rooms, and lab having a luxurious, modern, and futuristic design. The next ten floors are focused on Research and Development, then the rest are the company offices.

"Pete, you okay?" Tony asked his son as they eat their Dinner at their dining room at the Tower's Penthouse with a panoramic view overlooking the Empire State glistening and the rest of the Manhattan buildings.

"Yeah?" Peter looked at his father. He keeps brushing off what Flash said but it keeps repeating on his head.

"You're spacing out. I asked how's school?"

"Oh, it's good, Dad. We started with Thermodynamics today and Ned and I got perfect scores from the quiz. They served mac and cheese at lunch which sucks. And uh... Gym was okay." Peter continuously said as he eat his veggies not looking at his Father.

Tony raised an eyebrow. He can sense something was wrong. "Okay. Who is it?"

"What?"

"Who even has the nerve to bully you?"

"No one, it's nothing Dad."

"It's that Flash, is it? The one who's jealous of you. Ned mentioned."

Peter's eyes widened. "What? Since when did Ned? Never mind, it's nothing Dad."

"It's not nothing. What did that kid said to you?"

Peter bites his lower lip. He can't say it, Dad's gonna be mad. A short silence only follows.

"Okay, that's it. I'll call your principal so I can talk to-" Tony started to pick up his phone.

Peter stopped him. "No no no, Dad. Please. It's okay. I can handle it."

Tony sighed, if he knew better Peter's just gonna let it slide like he always did. He knew his kid. Peter as his heir has all the riches that they have as a Stark. They have a multi-billion dollar company, but still despite all of that, Peter never became arrogant. He forgives, he understands. He's a humble, kind, and thoughtful kid. That's why he's so proud of his son.

"I hate seeing you troubled. If you're not gonna tell me, then I have to talk to that kid."

Peter looked down and exhaled before answering. "He called me little Parker, because he said I'm not strong enough to be a Stark like you."

Tony's face hardened. _Peter is his. He's a Stark_, and how dare that kid insult the Parker's.

"Hey baby, look at me." He looked at Peter directly, caressing his face. "You know, I knew a lot of strong women, among those are your Grandma, Pepper, and you know who else?

Your mother, Mary Parker.

She's still a Fitzpatrick when I met her and I've known her as a smart, strong, and confident woman. She's a scientist and agent of SHIELD before. Did I mention that?

And do you know what's better than being strong? It's being smart, Pete. And you are that because you're a Stark, you're my blood. So no matter what, Peter Parker Stark. You rise above, okay?

You are both smart and strong because you're my son. You are always better than what the others say."

Tony smiled at him and Peter's eyes glistened, he brushed away a tear that sprung from his eye. He hugged his Dad tightly. Dad always knows the right words to say. "Thank you, Dad."

"I love you, kid. Remember what I said. And you cannot let Flash treat you that way, okay? If that happens again I'm really gonna have to stick up a missile on his butt, capiche?"

Peter laughed and Dad brushed his hair. "Capiche."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Thank you for reading! Avengers ARC next chapter. **


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's note:**

**I never thought I'd say this but writing this story is thrice as hard now since I watched Endgame. Especially since at random times a day I just feel sad because of what happened to Tony. Even if this story follows the MCU movie tie-ins, I really don't think I can kill Tony in here when the Endgame arc comes. But I haven't decided yet and we're too far from that. I really hope I can finish this story. Guys, I worked hard for this arc. I hope you all liked it. Next update will be on June. My family will have a month vacation so I won't be able to update. But let's hope!**

**Thank you so much for reading. I appreciate all the reviews, favorites, and follows. I love you 3000.**

* * *

"Sweetheart, are you excited?" Pepper grinned happily while she comes near Peter in front of the hologrammed screens.

"I am, I am! We've been waiting for this for months!" Peter jumped up and down. After months of Pepper working on the planning for the Tower and Tony working meticulously on the reactor prototype, it is finally ready to be installed in the undersea wiring of New York City.

"It won't be long now." In a few minutes, Tony finished installing the last piece of the Stark-Energy Reactor.

"We're good on this end. The rest is up to you, kid." Iron Man flew up heading his way to the Stark Tower where Peter and Pepper were waiting.

Peter checked the systems now ready and steady. He's known programming since he was five years old and it is a matter of just monitoring now. "Transition lines are disconnected. We're off the grid. Everything's good on our end, Dad." Peter smiled looking up at Pepper and hugged her side.

Iron Man flies to a clear view of the Tower. "Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy. Let's light her up."

Peter and Pepper turned to the other screen, where they can see what Iron Man's been seeing. Peter turned on the power and they stared in awe as the STARK sign lights up. "Awesome! It's like lighting up our tree during Christmas!"

"We gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign, Tony. You need to do some press. I can do some more tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next billboards."

"Pepper, you're killing me. Remember? Chill. Enjoy the moment." Tony arrives on the landing pad of the penthouse where the bots automatically takes off his suit as he walked inside.

"Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line." JARVIS interrupted. _Oh, great timing. I'm once again on their radar. SHIELD must've wanted a piece of the reactor now._

"I'm not in. I'm actually out."

"Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting." Tony raised a brow. _It's really that important, huh? Whatever it is, it's gonna wait._

"Grow a spine, JARVIS. We're gonna celebrate."

Tony went inside and saw Peter monitoring the systems while Pepper saw him and smiled. "How are we holding up?"

"Levels are holding steady... I think." Pepper replied and Peter quickly ran to his Dad as soon as soon as he saw him. "Dad, that was so cool! Your armor can breathe underwater now? And you have laser beams? You didn't tell me! What are the added weapons?"

Tony carried him. "Well, that was the reaction I was aiming for. I want to show it as a surprise." He kissed his cheeks as they went to Pepper's direction who's now at the living room pouring a drink. They clinked their glasses and went for a toast. Champagne for them and Peter's favorite grape juice.

"No weapons presentation for Peter, Tony. That's too dangerous." Pepper warned while Peter protested. "But there was a safety glass in between, Pepper and I'm gonna be wearing safety gear at the lab. Please…" Peter used his irresistible puppy dog eyes again. Tony just smiled at them; the sight is too good to pass on. He loves how Pepper can be protective like a Mom to his kid. Pepper almost agreed if she wasn't saved by the Ding of the elevator.

"Security breach." Tony uttered as they all looked at the private elevator where Agent Coulson can now be seen, stepping inside the penthouse.

"Mr. Stark. We need to talk."

"Hi Agent Coulson! We're celebrating." Peter ecstatically exclaimed standing up. Pepper also stood up smiling and welcoming him. "Phil. Come in."

"Uh...his first name is Agent." Tony pointed following, trying to stop her.

"We want you to look this over, as soon as possible." Phil handed out a file but Tony didn't even flinch. Peter stepped in front of them and handed the black tablet to his Dad in which Tony has no choice but to accept. "Dad has a peeve, Agent Coulson. He doesn't like to be handed things except when I give it to him."

Pepper giggled. "Thanks Peter." Agent Coulson replied smiling.

"Okay, it's way past your bedtime already, kid. Skedaddle there and wait for me in your room. I'll tuck you to bed." Tony kissed Peter's forehead then Pepper bid a farewell hug to Peter. "Bye Agent Coulson!" He waved as he run to his room.

Peter walked his way to his room but at the back of his mind he can't help but feel curious. Why is Agent Coulson here all of a sudden late at night? Why does he look pretty shaken? It keeps bugging him and he knew he won't be able to sleep if he didn't find out. He stopped his tracks and turned back tip-toeing as to not make any noise. As the stubborn little kid he was, he decided to peek through. The adults didn't even notice.

He watched as Dad typed in at the tablet with Pepper close to him. Dad expands the files and different profiles appear in holographic form floating in the air in front of them. Different reports appeared; Peter's mouth gaped open shocked as he saw the Hulk roaring attacking the army, a man in a red, blue and white outfit in the ice, Natasha and a guy with a bow and arrow, and a long haired man with a hammer. Wait, I know that kind of outfit, that's Thor from Norse legends! Peter loved and used to read a Children's book of Norse Mythology when he was still in the second grade. He looked at Dad now staring worriedly holding a blue cube hologram. _Oh, they're leaving now_; he ran past his hiding spot and hurriedly went to his room before they can see him.

Peter can't believe what he just saw. He tried to breathe evenly as Dad might come in any second. _Oh men, I'm toast. I'm not supposed to see that. I should've just gotten into my room; I might not even be able to sleep now._ A knock from his door startled him and he saw his Dad's figure coming close. Dad gave him a scrutinizing look and sits at the bed close to him.

"Pete. Whatever you saw earlier… forget about it, alright. It's nothing you need to worry about."

Peter's eyes widened. "I-I didn't…" He tried to argue but then, _oh screw it, _Dad's not going to believe that_._ "Okay… I'm sorry, Dad. How did you know?"

"Oh, I know and JARVIS knows." Peter face palmed, he forgot about JARVIS. Dad laughed and pinched his nose.

"What was that?" Peter asked worried. _Dad's not gonna fight, is he?_

"A precious item of theirs has just been stolen and they just need me to help find it, as their consultant."

"That's it?"

"Yeah, that's it. So no need to worry, my little one. I'll still drive you to school tomorrow, and then I'll fly out. Pepper will be in DC, you know that right? So Happy will be here to babysit you. That okay?"

"Okay, but Dad..." Peter looks up at him and cupped his face. "Please be careful..." and he hugged him.

"I always am, Pete... Alright, let's sleep now. You got an early morning quiz in English right? We don't want you snoozing at it." Tony kissed Peter's forehead as his kid hugs him. Peter listened to the sound of humming in his Dad's chest, like a little lullaby drifting him off to sleep.

* * *

Peter stared at his phone discreetly. Months ago, he found a way to reconfigure some codes in JARVIS's program that automatically tracks his Dad's location synced to his phone. He secretly activated it at his computer before he went to school. He still can't stop thinking about what he has seen last night. The blue cube Dad was holding, that might be what they're finding. But who took it? And why is Thor there? He can't believe the Norse god is real. But it is as if anything can be real now, there's even a big green guy. But why is he here? That's only stuff of legends and fairy tales. He wondered if he should tell Ned. The tracker says Dad is now heading to Germany. Dad said he'll take the jet but at this speed it looks like he's in his armor.

"Peter, you okay?" Ned nudged his arm whispering. "You shouldn't let Ms. Nils see that."

but it's too late. Ms. Nilsen's booming voice alarmed them suddenly "Peter Stark." She comes to them shaking her head disappointingly, holding a tray for Peter to drop his phone.

"But-but I need this, I really need this Ms. Nils." Peter pleaded but Ms. Nils just shot her eyebrow up. Peter sighed in defeat and dropped the phone.

"You know my rule kids. You can get it back after the school day ends." Ms. Nilsen returns in front and continued her lecture.

.

.

"What's up dude? You know how strict she is! And you seemed distracted since this morning. Is this about your Dad on his business trip?" Ned asked once Social Studies finished and they're now in pairs for their Science class.

Peter looked down worried while they answer questions in their Book. "Yeah, I know… but this one's not just some ordinary business trip. He studied all night for that."

"About what?"

Peter whispered. "About Thermonuclear Astrophysics."

Ned's eyes widened. "The what? That's heavy stuff."

"Dad can parse several information streams at once, so it's pretty much just easy stuff to him."

"That's awesome! Your Dad's really the smartest… Oh, can I sleep over later? Oh my God, I wanna see the inside of Stark Tower!" Ned excitedly exclaimed his eyes gleaming.

"Yeah, yeah, sure Ned. I'll ask Dad later when I have my phone back."

"Oh I'll ask my parents now." Ned put his phone out and texted his parents right away.

Peter's brows knitted. "Ugh, no fair." They still have two classes left before class dismissal.

"You should've opened your phone in this class." Ned giggled. "We're good! They agreed!"

.

Happy picked them up and they first went to Queens for Ned's things. Peter tried to call his Dad, but he was out of reach so he texted him instead, but he still haven't received a reply. Dad said Ned can sleep over anytime, but Peter still wants Dad to know. And to know if he's alright. They dropped by Delmar's for a sandwich before heading to the Tower.

"Wow..." Ned stared in awe at the lobby reception of Stark Industries. They can just lead straight to the Parking then the private elevator but they decided to tour Ned from the ground floor on the way up.

Peter laughed at Ned's reaction. "Oh, you haven't seen anything yet."

Every staff at the lobby greeted Peter "Mr. Stark." and welcomed them while Peter greeted them all back.

They went to the glass elevator and saw the spiral staircase and glass bridges at the middle of the Tower leading to the company offices. The interior looks luxurious and sophisticated and Ned was just overwhelmed the whole time. They also saw the R&D Halls. Different scientists and engineers coming back and forth.

They ended the tour with the Penthouse to Peter's room. "This is so much cooler than your room in Malibu, Peter." Ned's eyes glowed with amusement as he stepped inside. Peter's room is twice larger now with dark red and dark blue silhouettes that match. His favorite colors. All surrounded by glass windows with a panoramic view of Manhattan. His ceiling still has glow in the dark stars. A king size bed with a pull out at the bottom so when a friend sleeps over. There's a bookshelf and a blackboard wall. All his Toys lay out in a corner like playground. Bathroom with a walk-in closet. Headboard wall that looked like a gallery of modern art frames of Star wars, Star Treck, Iron Man and all the different pop culture stuff. His collection of Science Awards on a glass cabinet. And a side table with a picture frame of Peter with his Dad. All was neatly organized in perfect setting.

Ned slumped his back at the soft bed and relaxed. "I can just stay here forever..."

Peter sits on his giant bean bag while still tracking his Dad. He's somewhere at the North Atlantic now. It just stops there. Weird. He nearly dropped his phone when his yodelling phone ringtone roared into life. The wacky face of Dad grinning came into view and he immediately answered. "Dad!" Peter's eyes uplifted, he transferred the video call to the screen of his computer so he can see Dad clearly.

"Hey, kid. I just saw your text. Sorry, got caught up in the middle of something earlier. Of course, Ned can sleepover. Is he there?"

Ned abruptly stood up from the bed and sits beside him on his bean bag fully occupying the screen now. "I'm here Mr. Stark! Oh thank you, Stark Tower is superb! The labs are huge! Can I work here someday-"

"Okay Ned, my turn now." Peter pushes Ned lightly as if he can lift the big boy up, if he won't cut off, Ned will start to ramble non-stop. Tony laughed by the whole silliness. "Bye, Mr. Stark!" Ned called out while he went outside to the kitchen giving them some privacy.

"So how are you? How's school?" Dad smiles at him softly. He misses Dad already.

"It's okay, we toured Ned around the Tower and he went like this." Peter copied Ned's facial expression earlier of mouth agape in awe and Tony laughed. "We also went to Mr. Delmar's. He says Hi. Are you in a lab Dad? Did you find the thing yet? Will you come back home tomorrow already?"

"I don't know yet, Pete. But surely, we're soon gonna find this thing. And yes, this is a lab. A little cramped up but we'll manage." Peter's eyes squinted, there's a man from Dad's back that just walked in and he looks familiar. And a lab moving in the middle of the Atlantic? Where are they staying? How big is it?

"Who's that Dad?" Dad looked over his back. "Oh, big guy you're here. Come." The man went beside Dad. "Peter, I want to introduce Dr. Bruce Banner."

"Hi, Dr. Banner. I'm Peter." He waved at them then his eyes widened as he finally recalled. "Oh oh- I knew it. You're the scientist with the outstanding research on anti-electron collisions! You're among the famous scientists pictured in one of our classrooms at Midtown Tech." Peter gushed and Tony laughed lightly tapping Bruce's shoulders while Bruce looked over at Tony impressed. "Yeah, that's my son."

"Hey, Peter. Your Dad told me great stuff about you. I'm sure we'll have a lot to talk about when we meet."

"Dr. Banner's gonna visit the Tower, Pete. And when we're done here, let's try that Shawarma place near the Tower." Dr. Banner already went to his part of the lab just watching them now.

"Really?" Peter's eyes sparkled. Tony didn't know if that sparkle was for Banner or for the Shawarma or both.

"Yep. For now, we're gonna finish our work here alright. I'll call you tomorrow. Be safe, okay? Text me if there's anything you need. I love you, kid." Tony grinned giving a flying kiss to his son.

"I love you, Dad." Peter forced a smile hiding his worry. Hoping and wishing that Dad is just there as Tony Stark, their consultant, and not Iron Man. Because Dad as Iron Man means there's trouble, and he has to fight the bad guys again, endangering his life. and Peter doesn't know if he can take that anymore.

* * *

Right after the call, Tony started to poke Dr. Banner for fun with a miniature electrical prod just to see if he can get his alter-ego to wake up, when suddenly Steve Rogers walks in on them pissed off stopping him.

They got close with a heated argument delving on what SHIELD is hiding from them, and it ended with Rogers ordering stuff up to focus on their mission.

_He comes in here and treats us like soldiers. Guess what, old man. We're not. That guy has no chill_. _Who does he even think he is?_ Contempt and disbelief flooded Tony. Ever since he was a kid, all he could hear from Howard is how he helped Captain America, how great the Captain is, how he didn't get the chance to help save him, as if they were really so close. The whole adulation of his father irritated Tony to his core that he grew up with a disdain for the soldier.

_Surprise, surprise, Dad. He isn't that great._ "That's the guy my dad never shut up about? Wondering if they shouldn't have kept him on ice." Tony ventured as he recombines patterns for the different equations on his screen.

"The guy's not wrong about Loki. He does have the jump on us." Bruce replied as Tony walked over the monitor near him.

"What he's got is an ACME dynamite kit. It's gonna blow up in his face, and I'm gonna be there when it does."

Bruce smirked. "I didn't get a chance to say earlier, your son is really impressive. For him to understand my research at that age is incredible. "

Tony smirked proud. Peter surely knows how to crawl his way into everyone's heart. "That's my boy. They call him wonder kid, boy genius. I told you, we're fans of your work. I'm sure he'll be ecstatic to have you around the Tower."

Bruce looks over skeptical. "He didn't know I'm the Hulk?"

"Oh he will. That kid finds ways to know stuff. Stubborn little fella."

Bruce smirked. "Seems obvious where he got that from."

"Hey, I've read all about your accident. That much gamma exposure should have killed you."

"So you're saying that the Hulk... the other guy... saved my life? That's nice. Saved it for what?"

"I guess we'll find out." Tony smiled knowingly as they continued solving the equations and formulating algorithms until they can get a hit of where the Tesseract is.

* * *

"So, where is he now?" Ned asked as they put their lunch trays at their table.

"Looks like he's coming back here in New York." Peter answered as he took a bite of his cheeseburger. Dad finished off his work early, it means they already found the cube.

"Dude, that's really so cool how you managed to hack JARVIS."

"Weren't even close, Ned. I just added in some snippets of codes. I couldn't really get in deeper. Too much protocols, it will alert Dad."

They continued eating their lunch until his phone buzzed with Happy calling. Peter's eyebrows knitted. This is the first time Happy called at lunch. Peter just shrugged, Happy might've just called him accidentally again with the phone in his butt pocket. But this time the phone just kept ringing, so he finally answered the call.

"Peter, meet me out in five minutes. We need to get you out of here."

_What?_ Peter looks at the clock at the wall and checked. It's still half past noon. "Happy, it's still our lunch time. We're not allowed to go out half day. You can-..." But he was cut off with a loud blasting sound coming from the Tower. All the students looked up from the glass windows where they can see the Tower clearly just a few blocks from them. Students started chattering and Teacher's now looked alarmed.

"I'll be at our parking spot. Bring Ned with you." Then the call ended. Peter looked at the tracker. Dad's already in the Tower. He's back. What's that noise? His heart started to thud. _There's something wrong._

"Come on, Ned." They hurried down their classrooms to get their bags.

"Where are we going? We're not supposed to go out." Ned asked confused while they're heading at the front doors now, but Peter was too preoccupied with tracking his Dad that he has completely ignored everyone around him.

He stopped short, is Dad free falling from the Tower? Peter panicked, he checked again on 3D view, oh my god, he's really falling. No! "He's falling Ned!" He quickly ran out the door to see the Tower. As the doors opened, the sudden booming blast of a bright blue beam appeared from the Tower into the sky forming a space vortex like a portal to another dimension. Peter and Ned stared in awe, there are alien creatures in chariots coming from it and he can see Iron Man now firing his blasters at it. The ear-splitting ring alarm at the entire school startled them. The Principal now instructing the whole school of evacuation through the speakers. All the students knew of the drill before. Everyone is supposed to wait in the Gym until they can get everyone a ride out of school. The teachers tried to remain calm guiding the students out as they headed to the yellow buses ready to go.

"Peter! Get in, quickly!" He turned to see Happy in the Rolls Royce now parked in front of them, and they hurriedly went inside the car. "Your Dad called earlier saying we need to get out of Midtown."

"What was that?" Peter asked as they put on their seat-belts.

"We don't know."

"Boss." Happy immediately answered the call before it can even ring the second time.

"Swear to God, Happy. Don't tell me you lost my kid again."

"He's here, boss."

"Good. Avoid the Tower and head upstate. I'll call in later. Take care of my kid." The call ended before Happy can even reply and Peter can even cut in. Dad must be busy fighting. Peter stared outside, people are running and there are fires from the direction the people are coming from. They're already far from the school but still a few blocks from the Tower and they can see a congestion now forming ahead leading outside the city. And then they saw it, the flying alien in chariots up close coming, and a blast from their weapons knocking every car down.

"Get down!" Happy shouted right until their car was the one who got blasted now. Peter and Ned screamed terrified. In a split second the car slid off to the side track hitting a building pavement hard.

"Happy?" Peter looked up trembling and he started to check Ned for any injuries which thankfully they got none. They started to look at the driver's side now and they found Happy unconscious, blood was forming on the side of his head. _He must've hit his head hard_. Peter immediately looked at his backpack and searched for his glue prototype. Once he found it, he leaned Happy's head gently on the other side with Ned's assistance. Peter's hands are shacking but he managed to smother his medical glue at Happy's cut that completely stops it from bleeding.

"Peter, we need to get out of here." Ned mumbled afraid as he stared outside. There are a lot of unconscious civilians now. There's also a huge alien sea-monster now flying overhead them that looks swimming in the air. They can't even believe it in their own eyes. It's a _Leviathan_, it's only a myth from the Bible, but now it's real.

"But we can't let Happy here alone." Peter tried to shake and wake Happy up but it's to no avail. "Happy, please..." He whispered almost tearful.

"We're gonna die here if we're gonna stay here!" Ned now shouted as he spotted an alien with an energy rifle now coming at their direction. Peter's eyes widened in panic and they immediately hopped off from the other side of the car away from the alien. _I'm sorry, Happy._ They ran as fast they could, but Peter's lungs finally caught up with him, he cannot run anymore, his hands are on his knees. More aliens are coming their way, are they going in the right direction? He can't even tell anymore. They're gonna die. They left of all their belongings in the car in panic. There's no way to contact Dad.

"Peter, please, come on." Ned pleaded terrified. A blast was about to hit them when a shield defended coming from the man dressed in the color of the American flag.

"Get out of here kids!" The man shouted at them while he fights dozens of aliens now coming their way.

"Captain America." Peter mumbled as recognition dawned on his face and the names of those heroes from the tablet files. They stared in amazement for a second before reality hits them and Ned has to practically drag Peter. They stealthily hid at the side of a yellow taxi catching their breath. The thundering lightning startled them after, as they saw Thor at the side of a building now launching a blinding bolt of lightning at the space hole keeping the aliens from coming. The roaring sound of the Hulk jumping from a building smashing ten chitauri's at once. Then the flying chariots came past them, and he saw Natasha fighting her way over it. Hawkeye with a bow and an arrow hitting his targets bulls-eye without the slightest mistake. And finally, the familiar wheezing sound of the thrusters relieved Peter all over… Iron Man... Dad shooting off aliens with his blasters then flying in towards the mouth of the Leviathan like the tale of Jonah's, completely destroying its insides. Peter and Ned stared speechless. They are in the middle of the World's Mightiest Heroes singlehandedly fighting and defending the Earth from its invaders.

* * *

Tony shakes his head keeping his senses straight from a slight knock off, he just rolled down the street from ripping off the insides of a hard shelled Chitauri Leviathan. He let out an overwhelming sigh, a small band of chitauri's now coming at him with their energy rifles. He hissed from a headache as he tried to stand up.

"Sir, my sensors just scanned the whole area, Peter is just on the next two blocks from here." The monitor showed heat signatures from Peter and Ned hiding from chitauris. "Shit!" Tony paled, _why is my kid in here?_ He checked Happy and Peter's phone tracker earlier and it was okay. Goddamn it! That was minutes ago. Why the fuck is this always happening, Peter getting caught up in the middle of the fight! They must be scared as hell right now.

Chitauri's started to fire at him and he immediately stood to fly up getting away to Peter's direction. "Stark! Stark, you hearing me? We have a missile headed straight for the city. The payload will wipe out Midtown." Fury's tense voice suddenly echoed.

"Fucking shit Fury! My son is still here in Midtown! How long?"

"Three minutes, at best." Terror overtook Tony. Shit. He's out of time. It's too late. He can't fly out Peter in time. "JARVIS, put everything we got into the thrusters!"

"I just did, Sir."

Tony switched to the Avenger's intercom. "Somebody get to my kid just a block outside Grand Central!" Tony commanded as he left the street.

"We're on it, Stark." Rogers replied.

.

The loud roaring sound of the repulsors made Peter's head turn on the direction it came from. Then he saw Iron Man flying rapidly heading somewhere. Where is Dad going at that speed?

He caught in his peripheral a few chitauri's coming at them. "Ned!" Peter managed to move Ned and himself before a blast took them. When they looked over, Thor and Captain America's already there. Thor's lighting and killing the alien's with his hammer and Captain America defending and attacking anyone who comes in close with them. They managed to put every alien down in a few seconds.

"Do it... -Stark, these things are still coming!" Captain shouted as if he's talking to someone. "Stark, you know that's a one-way trip?" Peter stood up and went to them, his forehead creased from confusion. That doesn't sound right at all. Dad can't be doing that. Dad can't do that...

"Captain, Sir... Is that my Dad? Can-Can I talk to him?" Peter's voice now trembled. Captain took off his ear piece and gave it to Peter. He saw a hit of sadness from the Captain's eyes. Peter looks up, Iron Man is still distances from them but he can see it all clearly. The small figure of Iron Man slowly coming in gripping tightly a missile on his back. "Dad..."

"Peter..." Dad's voice broke.

"Don't do it Dad… Please. Please, Dad." Peter's eyes now welled with tears, his throat now hurts. "You can't leave me alone again Dad. Please. I don't want to lose you, too..."

Iron Man now head past them in full speed flying up into the wormhole. "Peter, listen... it's alright. You're not going to lose me, remember? Remember what I said? Feel your heart, I'm always there, I will always be with you. You're the best thing that ever happened to me, kid. I love you... I love you so much."

Peter's knees weakened as he looks up heavenward, gripping his chest tightly as Iron Man disappeared from the portal. "No! Dad! No... Please! Please come back!" Peter cried screaming as tears ran down his cheeks.

Ned let out a tear seeing his bestfriend helpless; he tried to hug Peter who's now on his knees. The earpiece falls and Cap picked it up. They saw suddenly, all of the chitauri soldiers and chitauri leviathans keel over and begin to shake, then stopped, falling over all at once. The avengers waited for Iron Man to come back, hoping he'll make it through. Thor and Cap see the supernova coming towards them and Thor nods to Cap.

"Close it." Cap commanded conclusively.

"Please don't! Don't! Let's wait a few minutes more! Dad will come through!" Peter in his small voice looked at them with tear-stricken pleading eyes. But it was too late, Natasha already turned off the Tesseract with a loud blast coming from it as the wormhole quickly closes.

"I'm sorry, Peter..." Cap mumbled apologetic. Peter's chest tightened, another set of tears shone in his eyes. He cannot accept it. He felt as if life was coming out of him. Dad, please. Please come back...

"Son of a gun!" Cap gazed disbelievingly and there they saw Iron Man's figure falling... Just falling continuously without his repulsors.

"He's not slowing down." Thor uttered and started swinging his hammer to fly up but Hulk suddenly snags Iron Man out of air, crashing and sliding down the building, and landing near them.

Peter stared shocked as they run towards his dad. Thor rips off Dad's helmet. He can't believe it. He was about to rejoice but noticed Dad is not breathing. Panic is now rising on Peter's chest. "D-Dad... Wake up! JARVIS read vitals!" but JARVIS is not responding.

Suddenly, the loud roaring fury of the Hulk startled all of them, startling Tony awake heaving heavy breaths. "What the hell! What just happened?" Dad muttered and the words brought forth unimaginable happiness in Peter's heart.

"Dad... You came back." His eyes started to water with Joy. Tony pointed a finger over Peter's heart. "I always will, Pete. No crying now, alright." And Peter let out a laugh as tears flow from his eyes.

"We won." Cap stated genuinely and all of them started to smile in relief.

"Yey! Alright. Good job, Good job, guys. Have you guys ever tried Shawarma? There's a Shawarma joint about two blocks from here. My treat. I promised this kid we'll have one, once we're done." Tony looked at Peter and brushed his hair. Peter smiled as he remembered Dad saying that on their phone call.

"We're not finished yet." Thor interrupted. They walked their way to the Tower which is just a block in front of them. Thor and Cap assisted Dad while Peter and Ned gushed talking over their heroes. As soon as they got in, Ned's parents came to come pick him up. Peter and Ned hugged each other. It is one adventure and memory they're going to remember forever. The Avengers all went to the Penthouse and apprehended Loki. SHIELD followed afterwards to get the Scepter and also tried to get the Tesseract but Dad and Thor insisted that the Tesseract went back to Asgard. They checked Happy who luckily just had a mild concussion. Apparently, the Chitauri's did not kill everyone who's already down.

Tony Stark just saved the world from mass destruction. The Avengers formed, past their differences and short comings, they came strong united as a team to save and defend the Earth. The world now vows thankful, people around the world felt safe to know that they are there.

* * *

"That was a noble thing to do, son of Stark. You had one powerful adhesive. It reminds me such of my Mjolnir here. Your metal man father must be proud." Thor complimented grinning as Peter finished recalling the story of how they got into their situation in the middle of chaos. He had a large bite of his shawarma after.

Tony caressed his son's hair. "Amazing job, son. And it's Iron Man not metal-man, Point break."

"Thank you, Mr. Thor. You can just call me Peter. What are you all gonna do after this? Are you all going to fight together evil now?" Peter asked inquisitively as he took a bite of his shawarma.

"I guess we'll lay low for now, Peter." Natasha answered as she put her arm around the kid. "Steve, Clint, and I still have our priorities with SHIELD."

"And Dr. Banner's gonna work for me, kid. At the Tower." Tony retorted.

"Oh, yeah! Cool! It's amazing how you turned into the Hulk, Dr. Banner! You went like this… and then you went like "Grrrr! Hulk smash!"" Peter's impressions are on point from a shy face to a raging one smashing his arms, and everyone laughed. Bruce looked down embarrassed.

Tony turned to Steve. He didn't expect to have a newly found respect and gratitude for the old man. "Thank you for saving my son's life, Rogers. I guess, I owe you." Tony went for a handshake with Steve.

"Thank you Mr. Rogers." Peter smiled.

Steve accepted the handshake and smiled. "It's no problem, Tony. Don't worry about it. You got a great kid."

"I hope you can visit us sometime Mr. Rogers, Natasha, Sir Clint, and Mr. Thor."

"Of course, lil guy. Who are we to miss Stark's throw-ins." Clint smirked tapping Tony's shoulders while Tony grinned. "Of course, all of you are welcome to the Tower. Even you, god of hammer. Just don't bring your god of menace brother."

"It is God of Thunder." Thor corrected and Tony raised a brow while he wipes the sauce out of Peter's side lips.

"I never thought of you as a father figure, Tony. Clearly, I was wrong." Steve interjected smiling at them as he can see now who's Tony's number one weakness is.

"Well, that's called the element of surprise, old man." Tony sarcastically pointed out.

"And he's back." Steve mumbled smirking and everyone chuckled as they continued to eat their lunch merrily. The door of the restaurant burst open suddenly and all of them including the employees looked at the man who just came in. "What'd I miss?"

"Uncle Rhodes!" Peter started to stand up and hugged Rhodey who's now coming at their table. Tony stands up and bro hugged his friend. "You missed a lot." Introductions are made and stories are exchanged as they recalled the Battle they just fought- The Battle of New York and Rhodey's Battle in Hong Kong.

* * *

They all came reunited at Central Park the next day to send Thor and Loki off to Asgard. Thor bid his farewell shacking everyone's hand and hugging Peter. Tony's holding Peter's hand while they watched the gods departed using the Tesseract. Natasha hugged Peter before they all parted ways. "I'll see you soon, little Stark." and she kissed his cheeks, Peter's face flushed. Tony and Steve shake hands as they said goodbye to one another. Peter waved his hand to them as they all went different places, for now. Dr. Banner came with them to the Tower. That same day, Tony and Pepper started their plans for the Stark tower renovation.

"JARVIS, secure the room." Tony commanded as he walked at his lab. "Room secured, Sir." It's midnight and he can't sleep. A thousand questions with no answers. Every time he closes his eyes... the glimpse of the space Armada, the wormhole closing, the feeling of falling blind, and the trembling tear-stricken face of Peter. Tony brushed his face. He poured a glass of scotch. It's been a year since he last had the drink and tasting it again felt good, giving him courage. It might as well be the time to get some things off his head for some peace, finding out the things that has answers.

"Search all of the files we hacked in SHIELD. Keyword: Mary Parker." Tony sits on his couch while JARVIS pulls up all the files and reports. Since he got his hands on the files, the questions he had in his head for years now has came into life once again bugging him. This time he can finally rest those questions with answers.

In five minutes, JARVIS has finished compiling all the files. What was fury talking about? He reads on the files and reports but it's just all he already know of. Animal DNA was Mary's research. They've discussed this but it's far from complete. Unless... Tony started to stand up. Scanning the papers... Shit! He finally remembered that morning. He wrote off a formula for the glitch. He hasn't even compiled tests for that formula, it's a wild guess for letting Mary figure out the rest. She didn't actually get it right, is she?

And then he found it. Some words are redacted but Tony already knew it. He covered his mouth with his hands shacking. "Mary... what have you done?"

And it's just the first of Tony's many sleepless nights.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's note:**

Finally updated! Sorry, I wasn't been able to write, had a bit of a writer's block and we're still on vacation though. I've been dreading to write for a while now, thankfully I had the time to finally gather and organize the ideas. Thank you for still reading this. And those kind words from your reviews, ahh so much love. I appreciate it so much. Thank you guys. Happy reading!

* * *

Rocks of ruins, cars on flames, hundreds of people looking up. _Where am I?_ _What are they are they staring at?_ He looks up to see a familiar sight falling from the sky. He tried to run but he couldn't move. It can't be. Iron Man's falling close and closer to the ground. _Somebody... somebody help my Dad!_ Please! Help him! He struggled to move but to no success until the loud thud!

Peter abruptly shot his eyes open and woke up reaching his hand to no one, heaving heavy breaths. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead. His heart racing. Dad? Where's Dad? Dad's usually around when he woke up with a scare. The night clock at his side table says only three thirty in the morning. It was already a month since his worst nightmare came into life and ever since then, nothing has ever been the same.

Peter started to get up and walk outside his room. The dim blue side LED's on the floor automatically lights up on his each step guiding him in the dark. It was supposed to be frightening for a young little boy to walk by himself on a secluded hallway in the middle of the night but lately, Peter's been more afraid of his nightmares.

He can't get to sleep unless Dad is there by his side. He went to the kitchen and saw a figure sitting, drinking from a glass, staring into the view of the buildings lost deep in thought. He immediately knew who it was and stepped closer. "Dad..."

The little voice came so suddenly that Tony was startled. So startled in fact that he fell out of his chair and dropped the glass causing a loud splintering noise to echo across the entire penthouse. Peter flinched and his eyes widened. "I-I'm sorry Dad. I didn't mean to startle you." He's about to go to his Dad to help him but Tony signaled him to stop. "It's ok. I'm okay, Pete. There's broken glass scattered. Don't move." The automated vacuum bots appeared to sweep off the glass and Tony got up on his feet and carried Peter to the table. Dad's hands are still shacking, he does not get easily frightened before. _Have I scared him so badly?_

Tony noticed Peter's looking at him worriedly. He forced a smile even though his hands are still trembling. "Let me guess, another nightmare?"

Peter nodded and Tony sighed, me too, bud. Tony tries to sleep but every time he felt as if he can finally relax, the flashbacks starts. And when he finally slept, the nightmares wake him up. It just keeps happening that he doesn't want to sleep anymore. The worst one yet, his precious little one being taken from him forever, and it gave him the biggest scare that can even make him lose his mind.

He poured fresh milk on a glass and gave it to Peter. "It will help you relax." Peter started to drink and once finished Tony gave him a kiss on his forehead. "Good boy. C'mon let's get you to sleep again." He carried Peter on his room. He lit up a peppermint candle to relax their senses. Tony planted soft gentle kisses on Peter's head and cuddled him to sleep. Every now and then, Tony was reminded of the horrifying events, but Peter has been his lifeline keeping him glued together, to live more, to stay strong.

* * *

Their entire summer was spent in Malibu. Peter went to summer camp for a month while Tony picked up a hobby of building suits ever since the invasion. Peter thought it was just for fun but it kept on coming, and until now Dad's still not stopping. He almost forgot some of the names of the suits Dad already created. Dad let him name some of them, and one of his favorites are "Igor" and "Starboost". He provided the ideas for "Chameleon" and "Tiger". Basically, an entire Iron Legion now exist at their Hall of Armory that can eventually retire his Dad. It should make Peter feel safe but the feeling of worry takes over more. Building that many armors might mean Dad's preparing for something worse.

It is now a new school year, nearing winter break. Peter and Ned walked at the Football field of Midtown Tech to the bleachers. They looked over at the perimeter set up by the Department of Damage Control cleaning up after the Leviathan laid over their Football field for months now. A bunch of other students are also in there. The creature has now been an attraction for students.

"Looks like they're halfway done." Peter noticed as he eats his sandwich.

"I'm gonna miss that thing when they're done." Ned replied and Peter face scrunched up. _What?_ "Dude. You're so weird." and they laughed afterwards. They hang out at the bleachers every now and then after school to watch the people do their work.

"When do you think they're coming back Peter? I want my drawings to be signed by the rest of the Avengers." Ned started to open his bag pack and see his drawings.

"Yeah, Peter! When are they coming back? We want our drawings to be signed too." Liz interrupted and the other girls went beside them.

Peter was about to answer when Flash cut in walking past them. "Oh sure, as if little Parker knows where they are. Bet Captain America won't even want to hang-out with that wimp."

"Just piss off, Flash." Ned called out while Peter just glared at the boy who's now walking away from them. Typical Flash. Peter always remember what Dad had told him. He always try to rise above not taking into heart the bad remarks even though sometimes he really just wanted to smack Flash even with his little hands.

"Don't mind him, Peter." Liz tapped his shoulder and whispered. "He's always jealous of you." And that bought a smile to Peter's face. "Thanks Liz."

At that moment a snowflake landed on Peter's nose. They all looked up, breathing and feeling the cold breeze and snow. It is the first snowfall of the year. All the kids started laughing merrily going to the football field enjoying the first snowfall.

That night Peter and Tony started decorating their Christmas tree at the Penthouse while a jingle bell rock plays on the background. They danced around while the snow falls to the ground giving the Manhattan roads and buildings a nice white coat. Tony picks up Peter to put the last Star ornament on the top of the tree.

"Ready?" Tony asked and Peter nodded as the Christmas lights of the tree came to life. Peter's eyes sparkled as the different lights danced around. "It looks magical, Dad." Tony grinned as they watched and he put his arm around his son. They sat at the carpeted floor near the fireplace after and drank their hot chocolate. It was the perfect way to cape off the night.

* * *

Iron Man landed on the Penthouse and Tony swiftly stepped away from his suit. His knees are going weak and his heart is still pounding. He first thought of a heart attack, _I might be getting old._ But it was a severe anxiety attack, it's the first time he had it this badly. He just had a catch-up with Rhodes in a famous burger joint in the city where they discussed about the Mandarin. For months now, the terrorist has been disrupting channels and is always on the news. Even Peter had accidentally watched it one time and became frightened. He can't help but feel concerned. It's not some big superhero business but there must be something he can do to help or stop it since he had tons of armored suits ready to fire at his disposal. Then the kids asking for an autograph went to them, and all became nuts from there. The little voice asking _"How did you get out of the wormhole?"_ still rings in his head. The flashback starts and everything's going downhill like there's no stopping it. Among the many things he's worried about, the wormhole was the one that constantly keeps him up every now and then.

He walked briskly at the bar to pour himself a glass of Jack. He closed his eyes trying to calm himself and held the glass tightly as if he's about to break it. When he opened his eyes, he found Peter heading to his direction. He turned around the other way to not his little kid see him like this. He can't calm the fuck down and as he tries hard for it to stop, the episode grows more strongly.

"Dad! Pepper's coming later right?" Peter asked excitedly and catches up with him hugging him from the back. Pepper's hasn't been in New York lately and he already miss her. Stark Industries HQ is still in California and Pepper mostly spends her time there with Happy as the new Head of Security. Peter's smile faded as he felt Dad's uneven breathing and he went to check and see Dad's face. "Dad, are you okay?"

He grew more worried as Dad now sits down at the couch gasping for air. Dad tried to tell him. "Go to your room." It's the first time he sees Dad like this. He remembered he's also like this when he had a frightful nightmare and Dad has been there by his side calming him down.

"Dad, just breathe... It's gonna be okay. You're going to be okay." He cupped his Dad's face and their foreheads touched together. It is what his Dad always tells him "I'm okay. You're okay. We're okay." and it works everytime. He prays that it works now. Tony repeated it in his head like a mantra. Slowly, Dad's breathing calmed down evenly and Peter sighed in relief. Dad finally gave a half-smile holding him close. "What would I do without you."

* * *

Pepper frowned in disbelief as she saw Tony in his lab doing pull-ups. She was just welcomed by the Iron Man suit and found out her hunch was right when she went into his lab. She just had a 6 hour flight from California to New York and was looking forward on their date night for a week now.

Tony had a conversation yesterday with Happy being the new "forehead" of Security of Stark Industries and it opened up an old flame Pepper had. It made Happy uneasy having suspicious doubts on Killian's bodyguard mentioning he's going to investigate.

The Mark 42 suit turns its face toward her, as if to look at her accusingly. Her disappointment flares up for being wrongly accused of entertaining Killian romantically when it's just mainly for business. She hasn't seen the guy for a long time and she was shocked to see the man having a more suave and confident aura that no longer shows any signs of his previous handicap, but that was it. She was glad for him but it doesn't mean that she could easily be swayed by his invitation to AIM.

She started walking upstairs. She had it. She's tired from a long day of work and one thing he could at least do is put his trust on her. Until Tony finally had the courage to admit he's at fault. It made her stopped on her tracks to find Tony's eyes sincerely apologizing.

"I'm a piping hot mess. It's been going on for a while, I haven't said anything. Nothing's been the same since the invasion." His anxiety attack earlier has been his most severe one yet. The nightmares, the exaggerated startled response, his high anxieties, and the feeling that he has to do and chase something are the signs that something's really wrong.

"You experience things and then they're over and you still can't explain 'em. Gods, aliens, other dimensions, and that freaking research... I...I'm just a man in a can. The only reason I haven't cracked up is because of Peter. That little kid kept me going. And you, you've been my rock. I have you both, I love you both, and I'm lucky. But, honey, I can't sleep. I come down here. I do what I know, I tinker...

But threat is imminent, and I have to protect the one thing that I can't live without. That's you and my son."

Pepper walked towards Tony and held him close. His suits have been his distraction, a coping mechanism that keeps him busy. But he can't help it because when he stops, the darkness is always there to eat him up.

* * *

"Dr. Banner, am I doing this right?" Peter asked as he answered another set of questions. He hangs out with the good doctor every once in a while whenever it's date night of Tony and Pepper.

"Yeah. Nice, you got it." Bruce checks the answers and smiled. He's always amazed at how Peter quickly picks up and learns things. They're going over the basics of Bioorganics now because Peter's already done with his homework. "So, what's your dad up to this time?"

Peter shrugged. "He's not supposed to do anything tonight. If he does, Pepper's going to be upset again."

"Ahh... Let's hope it goes well with them this time."

Peter smirked, he knew how Dad can be so stubborn. He looks up to find Dr. Banner now staring at his microscope. "You're a doctor right Dr. Banner? I mean you treat the sick, like a physician... Do you also give talks? Like a medical talk? Like a psy... Psych.." Peter tried to say the words and it's already at the tip of his tongue. He had already red it before.

"A Psychiatrist?" Bruce looked over at Peter, his brows knitted questioning.

"Yeah, that."

"What for Peter? Do you need help? Are you in trouble? Is someone bullying you at school? Does your Dad know about this?" Bruce can't let anything like this happening. Peter's just a little kid and everyone close to the Starks knows how precious a kid Peter is. Tony will surely rain down hell fire at anyone who tries to mess with his kid.

Peter's eyes widened. He can sense suspicion and anger growing now on Dr. Banner and he's afraid he's going to wake up the big green guy. "What? No no no, Dr. Banner. It's not for me. It's for my Dad."

Confusion overtook Banner's face now. Peter continued. "Can you talk to him? He had an anxiety attack earlier and it's nothing I've seen before. I don't know... maybe it might help him."

Bruce knew the events of the battle took its toll on Tony the most and he gazes over at Peter's worried eyes. It's not his specialization, he only had a few months of training in Psychiatry and it's one of the specialty he dreads the most. The mind can do crazy things to people. But how is he to say no. He tapped Peter's shoulders. "I'll try to talk to him, Peter. Don't worry about it."

"Knock, Knock. Am I interrupting?" Peter and Bruce turned to the automated doors to find the Iron Man Mark 42 suit now standing in front of them. Peter's face scrunched up, he knew Dad isn't in there, it's the prehensile tech controlled by Dad's nervous system. "Hey Bruce." Tony's voice was heard as the suit walked to them.

"Hey, Iron Man. How's date night going?"

"It's good. Good." Tony answered but Peter's brow shot up as he fix all his things in his backpack and looked over at Dr. Banner. "No, it didn't." Bruce smiled and patted Peter's hair. "Yeah, it didn't."

"Thanks Dr. Banner. See you again soon." Peter hugged Bruce. "You're welcome, Peter. You can come here anytime." and he quickly ran to the suit who picked him up and put him in its shoulders.

"Thanks Banner. So how's your homework?" The suit waved and Bruce observed as he watches as Peter and the suit head off to the elevator. _Tony, what are you doing with your kid, worrying him like this?_

* * *

That night, Tony had a frightening nightmare once again and the prehensile armor Mark 42 almost attacked Pepper. Admitting everything to Pepper didn't make his demons go away that easily. The suit sensed that Tony is in distress. It made her so terrified that she decided to just sleep in Peter's room. When Peter woke up, he got curious as to why Pepper is at his side. And when he saw Dad's tired face during breakfast, he knew that they had a rough night. He wished that the nightmares will just stop but it can't be that easy. And that morning they got a call that Happy was involved in a bombing attack at LA's Chinese Theater.

"He's in a coma." Pepper announced and concern washed over their faces. Tony's fist clenched, Happy was investigating Killian's bodyguard and this happened. There's something that's telling him that he needed to found out the root cause of this. Peter pleaded to let him come with them to LA but Dad insisted that he stayed in New York. Tony can't let Peter go with them especially if they still doesn't know who did this. Peter was almost in tears, Happy was the one who takes care of him whenever Dad is on business trip. Tony assured that they will be back before Christmas as they were all going to spend the holidays in the Tower. He knew Peter will be safe in New York especially having the Hulk around in case. But Bruce can't control his Hulk phase yet. He's starting to worry if he should just let Peter come with him or have him at the Leeds's place when JARVIS announced who has come in at the Tower.

"Perfect timing JARVIS. Let them come up." He has invited the rest of the team to spend the holidays with them last week and they haven't promised anything but he's glad some of them could come. At the sound of the ding of the elevator, Pepper and Tony turned to see the soldier and the spy coming towards them with a smile on their faces.

"Cap. Agent Romanoff." Steve and Tony shakehands while Natasha gave them a small hug. Tony started to tell what has happened to Happy, that he's going to come to California for a day or two, and asked them to take care of Peter for a while.

"It's no problem Tony. Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Cap looked at Tony with care. His first impressions on Tony has been the worst, he thought that the billionaire only makes moves out of dumb indecisive selfishness but ever since the invasion, after Tony did not hesitate to put his life on the line to save the city, he was proven wrong about what he knew about Tony Stark.

Tony appreciates the thought, but turned down the offer. He acknowledged Cap as their leader when the Avengers formed in the middle of chaos and more than what Tony liked to admit, he was impressed by his tactical decisions and ever since then has been a good leader to them. The Captain always makes it a point that it's always good to have a backup around as the worst may come and they never knew what could happen. But he'll have more peace if he knew Peter was safe and with Captain America and Black Widow around, the bad guys won't even dare try.

Peter held on to his coat, hugging himself, the freezing winter breeze seeping through. "I should've been to Malibu with Dad." He mumbled as his jaw's starting to shake. It was Midtown's last day for Winter Break and the harsh winter of New York is making him almost hate it. Mrs. Leeds had already picked up Ned, and he was left to wait for his. He thought of Happy, and how he was the one who always picks him up for years before whenever Dad wasn't around. How he still babysits him patiently even he's so chatty and annoyingly playful. He hopes he's going to be okay soon. A familiar car drove around in front and Peter's eyes lits up as he immediately knew who it was as soon as they stepped out. They were wearing their coats, shades, and cap. No one can even recognize them unless they're really going to be stared at and observed.

Steve laughed heartily when Peter immediately ran towards them and hugged them. "Sorry to have kept you waiting, little Stark." Natasha smiled as she caressed his cheek and gave him another coat. They drove back to the Tower and decided the next day to take Peter out for fun on New York's attractions, to take his mind off things. They went to the Rockefeller skating rink with the big Christmas tree. The place was pumped up since it's the start of vacation and they cannot move around freely so they walked to Central Park's huge skating rink instead. Rogers, Romanoff, and Banner has put on their disguises well, thanks to the layers of clothes and scarves of the cold weather.

Steve glanced around his left. He has seen these same faces twice today. Two on his left and three on the far side of Peter and Natasha's opposite. It is highly unlikely that you see people twice on a crowded place. His whole attention is always on Peter and his team but he's always got a sense of what's happening around him. He looked at Natasha who also peered at him, knowing what he's trying to say. For the past months, they've known each other at SHIELD. Even though Clint is Natasha's partner, they've been on a few missions together, from there he's gotten to know a few about the spy. They were cold to each other at the start, conversations mainly for missions, but they've eventually warmed up to each other, knowing each other's moves and tactics.

"Bald guy at two o'clock." Natasha muttered as she skated near him. He discreetly stared to all of those faces and they were all looking at Peter. _Why Peter? What would they want from Tony's kid? Is this what Tony was trying to not get Peter involved?_ He knew they needed to get Peter to safety. He looked over at Peter who was laughing happily while Natasha chased after him skating gracefully like a ballerina. He waited for Peter to come his way. "Gotcha." Cap picked up Peter while they skated to the exit. Those guys are now coming to them keeping a safe distance. They can take those guys but clearly they're not the one they want. They're starting to walk when he almost forgot. "Where's Bruce?"

Natasha completely forgot if not reminded by Steve. She's so preoccupied in getting Peter away from suspicious eyes. "Oh, he said he's just gonna buy some hotdogs earlier. He should be here by now." They gazed around to see if Bruce was nearby and they still cannot get a glimpse of him. _Son of a bitch, on what hotdog stand did Bruce even went?_ They decided to just leave it and walked, Natasha started calling Bruce on her phone. They were walking over the arch path when they found themselves stopped by another set of guys looking at them like they're gonna kill, the familiar guys went soon after surrounding them.

"We just want the kid, Captain." The bald guy said casually with a piercing stare.

"Sorry but you're gonna come through us if you want this kid." Cap put Peter protectively at the middle of him and Natasha, their backs at each other.

"Have you heard the news? Tony Stark's dead and that kid is going with us." Cap brows furrowed. He looked at Natasha who also shot a questioning look. "His mansion was destroyed in Malibu along with him. Stupid shit giving his address publicly." Steve chuckled and Natasha smirked. _One cannot simply kill Iron Man._ They can sense the guy was dead serious but it can't be true. They didn't even believe it for a second.

Peter's eyes glossed but he held his head up high and bravely looked at the man's face. No one can can talk about his Dad that way. "You're lying!" He shouted.

"No, I'm not, little guy." The guy smirked and went closer to Peter, mocking them. "Your daddy's dead at the bottom of the ocean." Natasha put his hand protectively and hid Peter on her back.

"That's enough." Cap commanded stepping close to the guy protectively shielding Natasha and Peter on his back. They don't have weapons and his shield was at the Tower. They went out to only have fun, they wouldn't thought to encounter this kind of thing. It's going to be longer to take on these guys and they can't keep Peter off their sight.

"Okay... I hate to do this but." A punch was about to hit Cap's face but he already saw it coming and punched the guy back. The other guys started to come and Natasha managed to swing her legs up to the guy's shoulders knocking it out with the other guy around. Peter watched horrified as the Captain and Black Widow take on the bad guys, and the bald guy's fist started to glow. In a swift moment someone covered his mouth and is starting to carry him, but Peter was quick on his reflexes, he bit the guy's hand making it scream hard and kicked the guy in the nuts with his knees . More guys are coming to abduct him and he has no choice but to run. Natasha saw Peter running away from them being chased. "Steve!" She called out for him to take care of the rest of the guys. "Go after him! I can manage these." Steve replied as he dodged another punch from the bald guy now heated up like fire and she unthinkably sprinted to where Peter went, he knew self-defense, he should be okay, she assured herself. Oh, she can only wish.

Peter coughed and panted, the freezing cold weather is not helping making it harder to move, he went around in circles at the park and hid at the side of a tree. He should have lost them by now, Central Park is a huge maze of forest. He glanced around, there's no one around. He started to walk back to the nearest exit, Natasha and Steve should be done with those guys by now. He can call from help there, where there's people around, and where there's a signal. Everything's going to be okay, that man is lying, nothing can ever happen to Dad, he had lots of Armor. But he was stopped in his tracks when a man grabbed him so suddenly and put a handkerchief on his mouth, Peter tried to get free, he struggled to hit the man with his elbows, he knows how to get past this grasp, but his senses are slowly starting to go down, his eyes becoming droopy, and before he can even fight he already drifted off into unconsciousness.


	17. Chapter 17

Tony felt the throbbing pain in his head together with the loud noise of his alarm slowly waking him up. In a moment he forgot everything that happened and he thought of waking up to see the beautiful face of his son again. But as he opened his eyes, it was no ordinary alarm, it was the alarm that says the suits power is dropping below five percent.

He noticed that he was flying blind and then he crashes hard into the ground, breaking trees at the middle of the forest. He takes off his face helmet catching his breath and opened the suit.

There was snow in the ground and the the brisk cold weather seeped into his bones, reminding him to take note of installing a heater on his suits the next time.

JARVIS informed him that they were five miles outside of Rose hills, Tennessee. But why? He can't remember of wanting to go here. And then all the memories flooded in, at the heat of the moment he had given his address for revenge. He expected that the Mandarin had the audacity to face him head on but he did not take into account that the terrorist doesn't really play fair by the rules. A dumb move that causes him and Pepper to almost lose their life in the destruction of the mansion.

JARVIS voice breaks as the suit loses power. "I actually think I need to sleep now, sir."

_No, no, no._ He must get back to see how Pepper was doing, _to make sure everything's alright._

"Jarvis... Jarvis? Don't leave me, buddy."

He finds himself all alone now. Left to survive on his own.

* * *

"Here you go, sir."

The nice lady handed in four fresh hotdogs with special sauce wrapped in a bag while Bruce thanked the lady. He went to his favorite hotdog stand which was a little bit farther from the park but no regrets, it is the best hotdog stand in Manhattan. _I'm sure Peter will love this_, he grinned happily. He was heading back to the skating rink when his phone buzzed, a call from Natasha which he immediately answered.

"Natasha, I'm on my way back. Got those hotdogs."

"Where the hell have you been Bruce? Change of plans. Meet us at this coordinates."

The call ended and Bruce brows knitted as he stared at his phone. Natasha sounded distressed and upset, there must be something wrong. He ran off to where Steve and Natasha were located, completely forgetting the bag of hotdog laid down on the street.

"I can do this all day." Steve said as he punches the bald guy again in the face. His hands are already sore from the heat emanating from the guy's body but he needed to finish this so he can follow where Natasha went to find Peter.

"Yeah, well, but I can't."

The guy wiped off the blood on the side of his mouth as he smirked looking at his phone. The bald guy started walking backwards, he knew he cannot take Captain America by himself. All the other guys that went with him to face the soldier are already down, he's the only one left. All they wanted was the kid, and when his phone alert said they already got what they needed, then there's no point in fighting him to death.

Confusion overtook Steve's face as he saw the guy now running away from him.

"Hey!"

He called out and ran to catch him but the guy quickly disappeared. He brushed off the thought they might have gotten Peter already, but no, it can't be.

Natasha ran to where Peter's location is, she was tracking his phone. She hoped he was still there, to see that bright and spirited kid using what she taught him for self-defense. Her heart stopped as she got closer to where Peter is, but she cannot see even a shadow of him. Oh no, please. It was just his phone laid on the ground. She was too late.

Natasha, Steve, and Bruce all went to their rendezvous point in defeat. Natasha told them what happened. Peter was taken and they don't have any idea of where he was. The ride back to the Tower was in utter silence, nobody can even dare say a word. Worry was all over their faces. What those guys are even going to do with Peter, worries them most.

"Tony's going to kill us." Bruce muttered and Nat and Steve looked at him.

He is right. They know if they don't find Peter immediately they're going to feel the wrath of Tony. Tony might never even forgive them.

Natasha sighed; she blames herself for not getting to Peter first. Steve put his hand on her shoulder, tapping it assuring they're going to find a way.

Bruce noticed a blinking red light from one of his computers, he tapped it and the light scanned the whole lab along with them.

"Room secured. A message from Mr. Tony Stark." JARVIS voice echoed across the whole lab and after it they heard Tony's message to Pepper.

"Pepper, it's me. I've got a lot of apologies to make and not a lot of time. So first off, I'm so sorry I put you in harm's way. That was selfish and stupid and it won't happen again."

They knew Tony won't die that easily, but to actually hear that he's still alive gave them relief, and then his message to Peter played.

"Pete, I'm okay and I'm gonna come home to you soon, buddy, alright? So don't worry anymore. And I'm sorry in advance because...I can't be there to spend Christmas with you. Dad needs to fix things first. You and Pepper, you gotta stay safe. That's all I know. and I know the gang will keep you safe bud. I love you both."

The voice message ended and silence crept in. Tony entrusted them his son's safety because he knew they can assure that they're going to take care of Peter but looking at where they are now with the kid nowhere to be found, they can't help but blame their-selves more. Peter would have loved to be here and hear his father's voice again.

"Peter's not here, JARVIS. Please don't tell Tony that yet. We don't want to worry him more. We promise we will bring him back." Steve told JARVIS as he looks at Natasha and Bruce.

"There's no point in blaming ourselves, guys. Peter needs us. Now, let's find that kid."

* * *

Tony walked for five miles carrying the Iron Man Armor. He puffed out a sigh as he came to the nearest garage he can find for shelter and food. He's exhausted and cold, and he just stole a poncho from a wooden indian. He was a billionaire who gets everything he wants but now he has nothing. He started to fix the micro-repeater implants on his arm when a boy showed up on the doorway, pointing a toy gun at him.

For a moment, he thought he saw Peter and his heart clenched by the thought. The boy was a little older than his kid, he observed. Peter has the same toy gun, just with the advanced starktech that they only use on a safe play area.

"You got me. Nice potato gun. Barrel's a little long. Between that and the wide gauge, it's gonna diminish your FPS."

The boy points his gun at a glass on a shelf and shoots at it, breaking the glass.

"And now you're out of ammo."

"What's that thing on your chest?" They boy asked and stepped closer.

_It's my son's favorite pillow now, apparently._ It seems just like only yesterday when Peter asked the same thing. He badly misses his son. His hugs, his voice, his curls, and his laugh.

Tony showed him the suit and the kid's eyes beamed to life, finally putting on a smile.

"Oh my God! Is that Iron Man?"

_The Iron Man armor has certainly an appeal to young kids. _"Technically, I am."

"Technically, you're dead."

The kid showed him a newspaper with him as the headline. "What happened to him?"

Tony reads the headline. He can use this to his advantage. Them knowing he's dead means him investigating freely without the threat to his life.

"I built him, I take care of him, I'll fix him."

"Like a mechanic?"

He stared at the kid. Sometime he forgets he is one. "Yeah."

The boy suggested in retro-reflective panels to make the suit stealth-mode which is a pretty good idea. This boy is also a bright young kid. But he would now like to take it back as the kid started to touch the suit and accidentally snaps off one of its fingers.

"What are you doing? You're gonna break his finger? He's in pain, he's been injured. Leave him alone."

"Sorry." The kid apologized but also wore a sly smile.

His thoughts came to Peter again and how his child can also be so playful around his suits. Breaking things but also making a way of fixing it.

"Are you? Don't worry about it, I'll fix it. So, uh, who's home?"

The kid told him his mom went to work, and Dad's gone. Just like his. and now, Peter might not get to see him again if he doesn't get to fix this. He ordered a bunch of supplies from the kid, one's he needed to get started.

"What's in it for me?"

"Salvation. What's his name?"

He knows this type of kid. This boy is much like his son. Bright young kids who always gets into being bullied for being a nerd. The term "nerd" mistakenly thought by many to be losers and not cool. Not that he can tolerate his son going through that stuff, he was always on the verge of kicking the heck out of that Flash kid, only to be stopped by Bruce and Happy. He had already talked to their Principal for that, but there are still times that he knew that Flash just can't keep his trap shut. And Peter was always too kind to even bother fighting back.

"How'd you know that?"

"Not that I ever wanted it to be, my kid has a bully as well, and I'm close to kicking that bully's ass."

"You have a son?"

"Yes, I do. His name's Peter. A little younger than you, but smarter."

The boy's eyes squinted. He noticed this man spoke about this Peter with tenderness.

"I got just the thing."

Tony opens up a compartment on the suit and takes out a metal object.

"This is a pinata for a cricket. I'm kidding, it's a very powerful weapon. Point it away from your face, press the button on top. It discourages bullying. Non-lethal, just to cover one's ass."

Harley reaches out to take it, but Tony pulls his hand away. "Deal? Deal? What'd you say?"

"Deal."

Tony finally gives the object. "What's your name?"

"Harley. And you're..."

"The mechanic. Tony."

Later that night, Tony and Harley walked into town to the site of the explosion. Tony needs to investigate what happened, to see it for himself.

"When you said your sister had a watch, I was kinda hoping for something a little more adult than this." He pulls out his sleeve to see a pink watch of Dora the Explorer. He silently smiled at it, it was cute.

Harley laughed. "She's six! Anyway, it's limited edition. When can we talk about New York?"

"Aside from the fact that it's where I live, then never. Relax about it."

He's been dodging anything that reminds him of the invasion. His anxiety attack can be triggered by it anytime, and it is a nuisance he can't afford now.

They stopped and Tony looks at the remains of the local explosion site and Harley told the story of what happened. The bomb guy, Chad Davis blew himself up killing along five people. Leaving dark shadows behind on the walls but there's only five, when there are six who died.

Tony sat beside Harley, contemplating; the story doesn't make a lot of sense.

"You know what this crater reminds me of?" Haley said as they stared at the crater in front of them.

"No idea. I'm not...I don't care."

_Don't say it, kid. Don't say it._

"That giant wormhole, in um...in New York. Does it remind you?"

_Shit._ "That's manipulative. I don't want to talk about it."

"Are they coming back? The aliens?"

"Maybe. Can you stop? Remember when I told you, that I have an anxiety issue?"

But Harley did not stop and instead asked a list of questions that agitated him more. His anxiety gradually rising.

"Are you...are you going completely mental? I can stop, do you want me to stop?"

"Remember when I said to stop doing that? I swear to God, you're going to freak me out!"

He can't take it anymore. He needed air. He suddenly rises and started running off. He found himself wanting Peter's presence to be by his side, his kid has a way of calming him. But he's not here, and he didn't know if he was okay. He thought of New York, the invasion, the wormhole, him falling, Peter in danger in a complete loop. He went to a wall to steady himself, his knees went weak. He can't take that.

Tony placed some ice in his face for a moment, thinking about his son, _that's he's okay_, once he calmed down, he then throws some snow at Harley.

"Your fault. You spazzed me out!" They went after to where Mrs. Davis to make light if his suspicions were right.

* * *

"Harley, tell me what's happening. Give me a full report."

He's driving back now to the garage where Harley is. After using Rhodes's access and hacking into AIM's hard crypt data files using the help of his unusually weird super fan- Gary, he finally discovered that each of the Mandarin's explosions was triggered by soldiers that were injected with Extremis, the same experimental treatment engineered by Maya Hansen. He knows that research has a fatal flaw and human experimentation of it can be lethal that's why he rejected the research years ago. He witnessed the power of Extremis first-hand starting with that plant and when he is attacked by Brandt and Savin, a pair of agents working for the Mandarin. When a user is unable to regulate their internal body temperature, they will start to gain heat at an exponential rate and explode.

"Yeah, I'm still eating that candy. Do you want me to keep eating it?"

"Can you still see straight?"

"Sort of."

"That means you're fine. Give me Jarvis. Jarvis, how are we?"

With his suit fully operational, he's going to stop every madness that Mandarin ever inflicted.

"It's totally fine, sir. I seem to do quite well for a stretch, and then at the end of the sentence I say the wrong cranberry. And, sir, you were right. Once I factored in available AIM downlink facilities I was able to pinpoint the Mandarin's broadcast signal."

"What are we talking? Far East, Europe, North Africa, Iran, Pakistan, Syria?"

"Where is it?"

"Actually, sir, it's in Miami."

_That can't be right. Everyone's out to have the head of this guy and he's only in Miami?_

"Okay, kid, I'm gonna have to walk you through rebooting Jarvis's speech drive, but not right now. Harley, where is he really? Just look on the screen and tell me where it is."

"Um, it does say Miami, Florida."

"Okay, first things first, I need the armor. Where are we at with it?"

"Uh, it's not charging."

_WHAT?_ He suddenly stepped on the brake and the tires screeched as the car halted into a complete stop. How, how can he defeat this guy if he doesn't have his armor. Oh God, he can feel another anxiety attack coming. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead as he tries hard to calm down.

"Actually, sir, it is charging, but the power source is questionable. It may not succeed in revitalising the Mark 42."

"What's questionable about electricity? All right? It's my suit, and I can't... I'm not gonna... I don't wanna... Oh, God, not again."

Tony breathed heavily and opened his door. He needs to get back to his family. He needs to see his son already, to know if he's alright. How can he come home now if he has nothing.

He heard Harley over the speaker as he gasped for air.

"Tony? Are you having another attack? I didn't even mention New York."

He hugged himself as he sits at the side of the car. He doesn't know what to do.

"God, what am I gonna do?"

"Just breathe. Really, just breathe. You're a mechanic, right?"

"Right."

"You said so."

"Yes, I did."

"Why don't you just build something?"

In an instant something clicked and he realized.

He was so used to the fact that his armor is a part of him that he forgot, half of his life the armor wasn't in his life. He was a son, an inventor, a doctor, and most especially a father to Peter. And before his son can even idolize him for being his superhero, he's a mechanic. He builds stuff from scratch, he builds something from nothing.

He finally realized that _the suit doesn't make the man but the man behind it makes the suit_.

"Okay. Thanks, kid."

He powered up the car. His ingenuity and great instincts have led him to being Iron Man. Because Iron Man is not just an armor. It is him.

* * *

Cold. It's so cold. It's the first thing he felt as he started waking up. The floor is so cold on his back. He curled up to hug himself but he can't. Peter opened his eyes, but the blinding light hurts so much he quickly squeezed his eyes shut and slowly opened it again so that his eyes can adjust.

He is in a bright white room, completely clean of anything. Not even a bed, no windows, nothing. His wrists are in restraints. Suddenly, the door opened and a man came in wearing a tuxedo along with some Doctors in their white coats.

Peter started to get up even though half of his body hurts from fighting back at the park. He crawled to the corner away from them as they come close to him.

_Dad, they're coming... Please... Dad, where are you?_

"No, no. Please! Don't touch me!" Peter screamed as one of the guards started to carry him into a small bed that just rolled in.

He started kicking and fighting back with all the means he could but it was useless. All the kicking didn't even hurt the man. They laid him on the bed, loosen his restraints, then started restraining both of his wrist at the side of the bed.

"Let go of me!"

"Ssshhh. Peter, right? I'm Aldrich. We're not gonna hurt you. Please, relax." A smile formed on the man's face that Peter found creepy.

_How can he say that when I'm in restraints and completely doing the opposite of what he said._

When one of the Doctors came close to him, Peter finally let out a tear he was fighting back. He's trying so hard to be strong but he's already so scared.

_What are they doing? What is even happening?_

He stared at the ceiling as he felt a needle slowly seeping into his skin. He caught a glimpse of them drawing his blood.

Peter closed his eyes as the tears rolled into his cheeks. _It hurts, Dad_.

He prayed, he prayed that Dad will just come and save him.

He flinched as he felt another needle was given to him, leaving him slowly drifting again into unconsciousness.

* * *

He woke up to a splintering ache on his head. This is happening way too often now, he has gotta get his head checked. He found himself in shackles as he tries to get free.

He had successfully infiltrated the Mandarin's headquarters by his homemade weapons. Unbelievably discovering that the Mandarin is actually a British actor named Trevor Slattery, who is completely oblivious to the acts the real Mandarin has carried out. And before Tony can even finish his plans he was smacked right through the head.

The familiar face of his botanist pal, Maya Hansen welcomed him. _Of course, she's a part of all this._

"So you took Killian's card. That son of a bitch has been interested in you and Mary's research from what I can remember. Thank God, Mary's smart, she stayed away from that lunatic. But you? You used to have a soul."

"I just took his money and I'm close, EXTREMIS is practically stabilized."

"I'm telling you it isn't."

"Because you didn't tell me what you told Mary! You gave her the solution to the her glitch when I should've been the one to have that! My research and Mary's were closely similar. If I had been the one who had that formula, Extremis would have been perfect just like hers. So what is it? Help me!"

Tony closed his eyes, he doesn't want to remember that he's been involved in that research. He doesn't even want anything to do with it especially his son's.

"It's different from yours. I can't help you."

He remembered what he wrote of course, but it was incomplete. Mary was the one who completed it and he only knows what Mary has freaking done with it. And this Extremis is nothing compared to what Mary created. Extremis is a virus that heals but later corrupts the body and is completely dangerous, there's no way she can convince him to help her.

"Bullshit."

Maya doesn't believe it. Tony Stark forgetting things that involves the mother of his child. He's lying.

"I'm telling you, I don't know. I can't help you. Get me out of here. Come on."

"You better tell her now, Tony or you'll regret it." Killian suddenly came into the room and put his suitcase at the table.

"You're not still pissed off about the Switzerland thing, are you?"

"How can I be pissed at you, Tony? I'm here to thank you. You gave me the greatest gift that anybody's ever given me. Desperation. Because as I wait and looked over that city, nobody knew I was there, nobody could see me, no one was even looking. I had a thought that would guide me for years to come. Anonymity, Tony. Thanks to you, it's been my mantra ever since. Right? You simply rule from behind the scenes. Because the second you give evil a face, a bin Laden, a Gaddafi, a Mandarin, you hand the people a target."

He realized he was standing to the real Mandarin, the real terrorist. His past actions has set on fire Killian's motivations on this path of destruction. He can't help but blame himself for creating this demon. "You're something else."

"Well, I wanted to repay you the self-same gift that you so graciously imparted to me. _Desperation_."

He rolled out three little orbs that showed a hologram and it was something he didn't expect.

It is Pepper in pain resisting the Extremis virus. Tony's blood boiled by the sight of it. They got the love of his life. True enough, he wanted nothing more than to desperately get out of here and kill Killian.

"Now this is live. I'm not sure if you can tell, but at this moment the body is trying to decide whether to accept EXTREMIS or just give up. But until that point, it's really just a lot of pain."

He's filling up with rage and his wrists now hurt as he tries hard to free himself and for his mark 42 to work. He can't even look at her as he can also feel her pain. _I'm so sorry, honey. I'm coming, I'll save you._

"And this was taken a few hours ago."

After he thought he can't take another tormenting, the video shifted into a white room. And Tony almost loses his shit by what he saw.

Something that he never wanted, never expected is now playing in front of his eyes.

He felt as life is slowly coming out of him. His heart clenched as he felt unimaginable pain. His worst nightmare came to life.

He watched painfully as he saw his son restrained to the floor and forcefully laid into a bed, crying, blood being dawned out.

This is what he never wanted to happen, anyone who's interested in Mary's research taking his son from him.

Ever since the night after the invasion, he found out about what Mary created. He kept quiet about it, kept it all to himself to protect Peter. He knew Peter's life is in danger. He's the last living son of Mary, and her research has been coveted for years.

After Tony gave her that formula the morning after. Mary completed it, perfected it for years. She has successfully hacked into the DNA of the animal of her choosing making it super enhanced like Eskine's super-soldier serum but much more.

_Rapid healing, enhanced senses, what more it can do depends on the animal._

It was astounding, revolutionary, but what troubled Tony is that Mary also secured this research; **her DNA was the only one that can activate the enhanced DNA of the animal.**

What kind of animal is this, he has no idea. A bunch of animals were listed into Mary's files. Any one of those can cause miraculous healing or a disastrous catastrophe to the human DNA. He doesn't even want to find out. All he ever wanted was his son to be safe. To be away from those that can put him in harm's way. To be away from that research.

All Mary's relatives are gone now and Peter was the only one left. Those who goes after the research before only knows that Mary has perfected it but they don't know that Mary's DNA was involved.

But he knew there will come a time they would find out, and that time has already come when they started going after his son.

Unfortunately for them, they didn't know that no matter what, they cannot put the super enhanced DNA of the animal for themselves because it will do nothing. Peter was the only one who can have it because of what Mary did, but he cannot let his son near that kind of risk. He can't help but blame himself for being partially responsible, for giving the solution to the flaw of the research, that led Mary creating this mess, and now his son in in danger and he can't even be there to save him.

Tony was the only one who knew about this. God knows what kind of experiments are they doing now on Peter just to find out. _What kind of monster would even do this to an innocent kid._

"He's just a kid! Oh god. Please just.. Oh god, let him go!" He can't watch anymore. Peter was left there, all alone, so cold and scared, has he even eaten yet? His frail body curled up and red marks on his wrist have formed already. He can see his face in distress and pain even with his eyes closed. _What have they done to my son?_

Another voice also protested unexpectedly. Maya cannot stand seeing an innocent child being hurt just for the sake of perfecting her research. It isn't fair. If it means giving up her chance, then so be it.

"Let him go. Let him go or else... 1200 CCs. A dose half of this size, I'm dead."

Maya put the injector near her neck threatening Killian.

"If I die, Killian, what happens to your soldiers? What happens to your product? We're not doing this, okay? What happens to you? What happens if you go too hot?"

But Killian, doesn't really care anymore. "It's times like this my temper is tested somewhat."

So he just shot her in cold blood. She was nothing to him since they got the Starks to torment to give him the solutions he wanted. And he's so sure that one of his scientists can figure it out without the liability, Maya Hansen.

Tony was shocked to see Maya die in front of his eyes. Killian killing without even the slightest conscience. "You are a maniac."

"No, I'm a visionary. But I do own a maniac. And he takes the stage tonight."


	18. Chapter 18

Tony heaved out a sigh as his Mark 42 crumbled to pieces after being hit by a truck. "That came out of nowhere."

He just finished saving off the Air Force one crew by controlling the Mark 42 from the speed boat they are in now. Unfortunately, Killian still managed to get the President using the Iron Patriot armor. It's time he summons the rest of his suits using the House Party Protocol. He wished he could've done it before the missiles hits the mansion, but half of his suits are in the Tower plus they were caught off guard too instantly.

They're on their way now to the container terminal where Killian intends to kill the President. If he's right, then that's also where they're also keeping Pepper.

_But where are they keeping my son?_

The sunset and the ocean laid in front of him is so beautiful but all he could feel is desolation, like life loosing colour. His throat hurts from unshed tears. As time passes by, he's growing more worried for his son. _Who knows what they're doing with him._ He can't forgive himself if anything happens to Peter. He's trying to hold on, trying to stay strong. His family needs him and he will save them.

"Hey man, you okay?" Rhodey patted gently Tony's back, concern on his eyes. Ever since they saw each other earlier, found out they're held in the same compound, he knew Tony is trying to mask his worry and sadness. Tony can laugh and still make funny comments but he knew his bestfriend, deep down he knew he is scared for the lives of the most precious people in his life. "They're going to be alright. You'll be there to save them. We'll be there."

Tony forced a smile amidst his misery, brushing off a tear that escaped his eye. His hardened throat made it hard to reply but he still managed to regain his composure.

"No matter what it takes."

JARVIS voice interrupted them as they stared into the orange sunset skies. "Sir, a call from Captain Rogers."

Tony's expression hardened hearing the name and answered the call.

"Tony," Roger's voice sounded apologetic. _He better should be._

"About time."

It didn't escape Steve the resentment from Tony's voice. "I guess you knew already. We're sorry, Tony. We really are. It got out of hand, we were -"

Tony cut him off and his face scrunched up. "It got out of hand? What? I trusted you! You're freaking Captain America! You've got Black Widow, you even got the Hulk there!"

He doesn't need an explanation. His anger is growing by the minute. He expected too much of them. He expected that no harm will come to his son because he's in the right hands, but still the worse comes to worst. Tony blames them, but blames himself even more for trusting too much. It's his entire fault. He should've been there. All his past bad decisions coming back harrowing into his conscience.

"Know what, save it. I'm gonna save them. We're on our way to where they're hiding Pepper. Peter might be there, I'll find a way."

"Peter's not in the container port, Tony. We have finally intercepted where they've taken him. We're on our way as well. We'll bring him back to you. I promise."

Tony closed his eyes as he processes the words.

_Oh, thank God. They know where Peter is._

Steve waited for Tony's reply but he didn't got any so he decided to just end it there.

"Goodluck Tony."

Steve was about to hang up the phone when in a raspy voice Tony replied.

"Rogers.. Bring back my son in one piece."

"You have my word."

With that the call ended as Tony and Rhodes closes into the big big boat they're about to hijack.

* * *

Steve turned around to see Natasha and Bruce looking at him, concern in their eyes. He figured he should be the one to talk to Tony since the one mainly responsible for Peter getting out of their hands is him. Natasha insisted that it's not his fault, it's no one's fault, everything happened too fast, it does got out of hand, but he can't help it. The team rely on his decisions, and what happened is a failure to him as their leader. They waited to call until they can give Tony some good news. They knew if they prematurely called Tony without knowing where Peter is, it will solve nothing. They don't want to be an excess to Tony's problems even more. And once they found Peter's location using Natasha's hacking prowess with the help of SHIELD and STARK servers, they immediately suited up and called Tony.

They are now in the Quinjet, heading to Peter's location which is also in Florida, but is on a remote island. Killian very well thought out to have his hostages in different locations to torment Tony even more. Killian knew he have an alas if he has Tony's son hidden somewhere.

"Banner, no code green unless we really needed it." Cap commanded as they get ready.

"Yeah, okay." Bruce helped preparing the medical supplies needed along with some some doctors and nurses that came with them from the Tower. He's worried for the state Peter is in right now.

"The island is surrounded by soldiers probably half of them injected with the same virus." Natasha said as the quinjet landed on the water. A small air boat was set-up and they stealthily went to the island. A small SHIELD tactic team was with them as backup. They infiltrated the outer perimeter successfully killing all the bodyguards. Cap handles all the soldiers with the Extremis, the tactic team with the guards, while Natasha finds a way to hack the security of the big facility prison to get inside.

"Need my help?" Bruce asked as he pace back and forth. He just watches everyone do their jobs and he guiltily stands there looking useless.

"No. I can do this. You need to check on Peter when we get him. We don't want you green and angry; you'll just scare him more." Natasha focused on her laptop as she tries another set of commands. "Come on." She was close to breaking in when riffle shots were heard from a bunker and she's about to be shot if she wasn't saved by Bruce pushing her to get down destroying her laptop. "Shit!"

"Now?" Bruce raised a brow at Natasha as he stands up. He knows this mission is a code green already.

"Oh screw it. Go!" With her signal, Bruce protected her from the gun shots of another guard as he immediately grows into the Hulk. The big angry green guy now runs after the bunker completely destroying it. After it, the Hulk made his way to the big steel door of the prison that looked somehow like a fortress, with the second smack, it completely broke. Black Widow and Captain America followed inside and what welcomed them is a big white maze of doors and laboratories.

"Search for the control room, I'll go and try to find Peter on these rooms." Cap instructed.

She nods and runs to find the control room. Part of her training of being an assassin before is to know where control rooms are located, so she already has an idea of where it is. She just hopes her hunch is right. Part of her also worries on how they are going to calm Hulk down later.

Cap runs and checks every door he ever passed killing along some guards on the way. He's only finished one floor. On what floor are they keeping Peter anyway? That Killian is nuts on building something as freaky as this.

"Cap. Found him. He's at the top floor. Middle Room. Hurry. I'll meet you there. " Natasha's voice echoed on his intercom. Steve sprinted at the stairs to the top floor, he has no time to look for the elevator wherever the heck that is.

After five flights of stairs, Steve finally reached the top floor and quickly spotted the room where Peter is. He easily opened the locked door with his strength. "Peter!"

Steve went inside the white room and the sight of finally seeing Peter relieved him but also put an ache into his heart, as he completely observed the situation the child is in right now. Peter lays on a bed curled up in a fetal position, his wrists red in restraints, his eyes are shut closed but in distress and in pain, face completely pale, his lower lip trembling from the cold temperature of the room. _What kind of monster would torture a kid like this._ He caressed Peter's hair and swiftly destroyed the restraints.

_I'm so sorry you have to go through this, Peter._

Natasha came in soon after and her eyes glossed at the sight of him. "Oh my god, Peter." She kneeled at the bed caressing his face and kissed his cheek.

Cap carried Peter in his arms gently. "Can you hear us, kiddo? We're going to get you out of here."

Soft murmurs of voices have awakened Peter's senses. His eyelids are heavy as he tries to open his eyes. The first he saw is Natasha walking behind the man carrying him and it bought a half smile to his face. I know they're gonna come to save me. He then saw the blue striped uniform his head is resting to and he immediately know whose the man carrying him.

"Quinjet's already waiting downstairs." Natasha guided them as she holds Peter's hand and Bruce stepped out of the Quinjet carrying blankets. Cap was about to transfer Peter into Bruce's arms but Peter won't let go of his grasp on him. He was about to try and talk to Peter that it's okay now, he's in safe hands, but Bruce already understands the sudden reflex.

"It's okay Cap, just hold him for now." He wrapped a blanket around Peter while Steve still holds him.

"Is he going to be alright?" Cap asked as Bruce and the doctors talk and work together checking Peter's overall vitals.

Natasha answered at his side as she holds Peter's cold hand. "He will be."

* * *

"Honey, I can't reach any further and you can't stay there. All right? You've got to let go. You've got to let go! I'll catch you, I promise."

Tony reached his hand to Pepper as best as he can but she's still a little farther away from him. His eyes glistened from unshed tears seeing the state Pepper is in. She's inches away from death and his hands are almost there to catch her.

_Just a little bit closer, honey, please._

The rig Pepper is in suddenly collapsed and she lost her balance.

"No!" Tony screamed as their hands touched for a single second and he watched as she plummets down hundreds of feet to the blazing fire of the ground below still reaching her hands to him.

_I - I almost... I almost had her._

Tony couldn't believe it, he just watched Pepper die in front of his eyes. He looks away unable to accept the grief that is slowly filling him.

_I can't save her._

He was stopped of processing the grief he is feeling when he saw Killian still alive, walking towards him. _You should be the one to die. I'm gonna kill you, you fucking lunatic._ They run towards each other and Tony slipped past him into another suit. They convulse into a fierce fight and Tony slips into various Iron Man suits as he continues to fight Killian. Every suit he got into, Killian managed to burn and melt some part off. The last suit he slipped into, "Shotgun" went to his rescue but eventually torn to pieces when Killian sliced through it with his burning hot hands, causing him to fall off the ground without any armor.

Killian was about to finish him when JARVIS announced the Mark 42 is inbound.

"I'll be damned. The prodigal son returns."

He waited for the Mark 42 to come to him and make his great entrance but it fell off into pieces landing ungraciously. Tony felt embarrassed as Killian looks at him mockingly.

"You really didn't deserve her, Tony. It's a pity. I was so close to having her perfect."

_Don't try to insult her. She's already perfect._

Killian jumps down to him and he had an idea. "You're right. I don't deserve her. Here's where you're wrong. She was already perfect."

He gestured for the mark 42 to attach to Killian before he can attack him, successfully trapping him in it.

"JARVIS, do me a favor and blow Mark 42."

He slides down right before the mark 42 self-destruct and slipped into another armor that's in bad shape. Another rig collapses and the suit malfunctioned as he falls to the ground. From the wreckage in front of him, a figure rose and he saw a deformed Killian emerge from it. _This fucker got nine lives._

Killian walked to him telling he's the real Mandarin, and Tony limped back. He was about to attack Tony when unexpectedly Pepper hit him.

Tony stared completely shocked. He thought, he thought she was gone. And seeing her blazing hot with the abilities of the virus astonished him. Pepper managed to kill Killian afterwards, by deploying and hitting a bomb on him from another Iron Man armor.

"That was really violent." Pepper said as she process on what she just did. She never thought she could do that. It's not on her nature to harm any living soul.

_The original plan was to save her, and now she saves me. Like she always does. _

_Now, that's my badass girlfriend._ Tony smiled wholeheartedly as he went to touch her and give her a hug which she refused at first because she thought she might burn him.

"Am I gonna be okay?"

"No. You're in a relationship with me. Everything will never be okay. But I can figure this out; I think I can get you better,"

She's now safe in his arms, now his heart still goes and worries to the boy who's most precious to him.

"We're not finished, Pep. Peter, I- I need to see how he's doing."

Just then a Quinjet hovered near them and landed at the port. A cold shiver ran down Tony's spine as he and Pepper walked towards it. Pepper holds his hand supporting him. His heart tightens on his each step as the hangar door slowly opens.

He only had one thought, _to see if Peter is alright_.

Tony's eyes welled as he took in the sight of his son. "Baby..." His voice broke as his throat hurts.

Steve and Tony met halfway as Steve carries Peter and gently transferred the little kid into Tony's arms.

Peter finally let go of Steve and embraced his Dad, resting his head into Tony's shoulder. Peter still had his eyes closed but he can feel and hear the soft humming sound that always relaxes him. "Daddy..." A soft murmur came from Peter.

"I'm here now, bud." Tony grinned as tears escaped his eyes, planting a soft kiss into Peter's head. "You're safe now."

Bruce came to them telling Tony that Peter needs an IV but the kid always cries and make a fit whenever he feels a needle close to him. Even the mere sight of a man or woman in a white coat also puts a scare into Peter when he saw a glimpse of them earlier and Steve had no choice but to order everyone to throw whatever white coat there is.

"He's severely dehydrated, Tony."

As Bruce tries again, Peter suddenly jerked from Tony's embrace startling all of them. "No, no, no! Get it away from me!"

Tony got a hold of Peter's arms calming him, "Baby... hey, hey. hey. It's okay. I got you... Baby, look at me."

Bruce backed away again as Peter now sobs. "I don't wanna. It hurts... Dad. Please, I don't. I don't want to."

_What have they done to my son_. The sight of it all bought tremendous pain into all of them especially Tony. If he could just get away all of the things that can hurt Peter, he already did.

"Bud, look at me... It's alright. I got you. It's gonna be okay." As Peter calmed down, Tony decided, it's time. "JARVIS, you know what to do."

It's time he let go of the suits. A sign that he's finally letting go of his paranoia of the future unknown. "The clean slate protocol, Sir?"

"Screw it, it's Christmas. Yes." As he said it he hugged Peter close and the Iron Man suits self-destruct creating fireworks and Peter looked up, finally forming a smile. He loves watching fireworks and Dad always give him a firework display on his every birthday.

As Peter watch the suits blow up, Tony signaled for Bruce to come and the IV was carefully injected to Peter without him noticing.

Peter's tears flow into his cheeks as he felt a pinch into his hand as Dad kissed the side of his head. "It's okay. I'm here."

In a few seconds it's all done and Dad kissed his forehead and hugs him close. "That's my brave boy."

_In Dad's arms he finally felt safe. He finally felt home._

Tony rubs Peter's back as he warms the blanket around his son.

The whole flight back to the Tower, Peter didn't leave Tony's embrace. And Tony protectively just hold his son close in his arms. They headed straight into the Medical bay area of the Tower instead of the Hospital where there's no white walls and no white coats. Steve and Natasha told Pepper what happened, what they saw on that room and she relied it to Tony. All that stuff traumatized Peter, and Tony cursed himself for not being there to stop it. He was supposed to protect his son. So many times, Peter has been in danger. So many times, and he's always been there to stop it. But now, Peter was left all alone, helpless.

"You got to stop blaming yourself, Tony. You got to stop blaming them," Pepper went close to sit with him and rubbed his arm. Peter still in Tony's arms.

"If there's anyone to blame it's Killian, and he's gone now."

Pepper knew that Tony understands what she's talking about. She knows it's going to take some time for all of them to heal.

She gets to hold Peter for a while so Tony can take a shower and eat. Tony protested at first but she insisted and Tony has no choice but to follow her. Peter's now regaining his strength as they can see colour now on his cheeks. _I'm so sorry this happened, sweetheart._

The doctors laid down their diagnosis. Peter suffered from severe dehydration and bruises from his wrists, his arms from the needles, and his legs from kicking stuff up too much. No virus or any antibodies were found. The one who did this to him, just draw blood over and over for a time period. Moreover, a trauma like this brought forth complications in his psychological well-being.

Tony knows how much of a bigger impact a trauma is psychologically. While physical wounds heal more swiftly through time, psychological wounds needs a little bit more. He can attest to this from the horrors he experienced before- from grief over the sudden death of his parents especially his mother, the cave where he was kidnapped and almost died, to the wormhole where he fell from, all of it still leaves a scar in his mind from time to time. Peter will need to have some counselling session with a Psychiatrist for the months to come and Pepper insisted that Tony will have too.

As Christmas morning came, Peter woke up to feeling much more refreshed and safe with Dad by his side. As he moved, he noticed Dad's already waking up as well. It was a beautiful day as the soft rays of morning sunlight glistened around the room. Dad caressed his hair as he sits at the bed.

"How do you feel now, bud? Does it hurt anywhere?"

"No, dad. I'm okay." Peter smiled hugging his chest and Tony kissed the top of his head. It's moments like this that he feels as if he already has everything he needed in his life.

They went outside the room after and saw Pepper by the kitchen. "Oh sweetheart, Merry Christmas." Pepper's eyes lights up as soon as she saw them and she smiled warmly hugging Peter. Peter noticed Pepper prepared all his favorite dishes at the table. It's Christmas after all. Pepper invited the rest of the team to join them and Bruce checked Peter's vitals again. Having found no other complications and the kid now well rested, he removed the dextrose from Peter's hand.

Peter sits at Tony's lap as they ate and Tony acted cool around Steve, Nat, and Bruce, but somehow Pepper can still feel the tension. She can really tell they're tip-toeing around each other while Peter sits oblivious to everything. So after breakfast, she made an excuse for them to clean up all the dishes so they could all talk.

Peter and Pepper went to the living room after, checking the gifts under the Christmas tree. They're all going to open everything later and celebrate.

After some time of having heavy atmosphere, as Bruce put the dishes in the sink, he started to break the wall of silence. "I'm so sorry, Tony. We're sorry. We really are." Among the rest of the team, he's the one closest to Tony and he doesn't really want this going between their forged friendship. It was a mistake on their part and they were guilty to it.

"I'm sure Pepper already told you what happened," Steve started to admit as he stopped halfway of cleaning the table. "I guess we got too preoccupied that we didn't get to notice immediately that we're being followed."

Natasha stopped washing the plates for a moment and gazed at Tony beside her. "We didn't mean for it to happen, Tony. I'm sorry. When Peter ran away from our sight, it happened too fast. I wished I could've been there sooner before he was taken."

It rarely happens that the Black Widow apologizes for her mistakes, since she always make sure her actions flows perfectly. It was an honest mistake on her part of letting Peter out of her sight for a moment to take care of the bad guys.

"We understand if you can't forgive us right away, Tony. It was our fault. We're really sorry that it happened. Peter doesn't deserve any of that." Steve's apologetic eyes still gazes at Tony who's drying the plates, still not saying a word.

There was a pregnant pause before Tony finally speaks up.

"You know, one of the things I learned from being a Parent, is that you cannot protect your child 24/7, no matter how hard you try,"

He looks over at Peter who's now laughing with Pepper as if nothing happened.

"From all the things that almost put Peter in danger... Shit still happens no matter how I wanted to protect him, no matter how I try and shield him from anything that can hurt him,"

From Obadiah's threat, the race where Whiplash is, the Expo disaster, the invasion, even from the media and reporters, and his bullies in school, Tony tried his best of protecting Peter. But shit still happens beyond his control, and he knows it's not his fault. But sometimes, he can't help but feel, he could've done more.

He turned his eyes onto them now.

"You lost my son, but you also found him, and you brought him back to me. He's safe now, that's what's most important.

So, I guess that's good enough for me to forgive you guys, and to thank you for fulfilling your promise."

Tony's words have finally put a smile on all of their faces. They all thanked Tony afterwards and they continued cleaning up as they slowly ease up again to each other.

Later that night, as the fireplace lights up surrounding them with warmth, the gifts were exchanged and Peter's eyes gleamed in happiness as he receives gifts from all of them.

As Peter sits in Tony's lap, all he could feel is thankfulness. He already received the greatest gift, he could ever receive, his son right here in his arms hugging him.

Amidst the craziness and brutality of all that happened, they've managed to celebrate Christmas as a time of happiness and forgiveness.

Over the next few days, after some tinkering, Tony successfully removed the Extremis virus out of Pepper's body. And he finally decided to do the open heart surgery that Pepper has been convincing him to do for years now, to remove the shrapnel that's trying to enter his heart, also removing the arc reactor from his body. Tony found his way again to reconnect with Dr. Wu, whom he met years before along with Yinsen, and picked him as the cardio-thoracic surgeon who will lead his surgery.

Peter watched with Pepper and Uncle Rhodes from the glass window of the Operating Room supporting Dad. The smile and thumbs up from Peter gave Tony courage and that signal started the surgery. The shrapnel was successfully removed and Peter waited for his Dad at the room. Peter's anxiety of white rooms and white coats still lingers somehow so Tony insisted that no one comes to his room in a white coat and they made sure, the room is a mix of well mixed palette of blue.

After being some time in the recovery area, Tony's bed rolled into his room and Peter went beside the bed and climbed up, sitting next to his dad.

"Dad..." He murmured and touched Dad's arm. Worry painted in his eyes. He had read somewhere that sometimes people don't wake up from surgery. He hoped Dad won't have the same thing.

"Careful now, dear. Your father needs the rest so he can recover quickly." The nurse checking his Dad reminded him.

"He's going to wake up later, right?" Peter asked as he looks at his Dad now sleeping so peacefully.

"Right. Of course, dear. There's no need to worry." The nurse smiled at him reassuringly and he thanked her and she went away soon after.

A few moments later, he saw Dad opening his eyes, "Come here, bud." gesturing for him to lie next to him.

He shakes his head as a way of saying no. "I might hurt you, Dad. The nurse said you need to rest-"

"You're never going to hurt me. Come on." Finally giving in, Peter laid his head into Dad's arm and hugged him close sideways.

"See? You just fit perfectly fine here." Peter laughed and Tony chuckled as he closes his eyes again, smelling the coconut scented hair of his son, relaxing him.

Peter also closed his eyes as he listened to a brand new lullaby lulling him to sleep. The humming from the arc reactor is gone now, but the familiar sound of Dad's heartbeat welcomed him and he smiled. It's been years since he last heard of Dad's heartbeat and it used to be his favorite sound before Dad got kidnapped. Now, he's glad Dad found his way to bring it back.

.

Tony stared into the vast pacific ocean of Malibu. They've gone back to somehow bid farewell, to not just the house, their life in Malibu which they had so many fond memories of, but also to his past that created the demons that haunted their life recently. With them coming back to the Tower is Butterfingers who's unprecedentedly the real prodigal son. His workers found it sticking out from the other debris. So he had them dig it up.

He throws away the Arc Reactor, a relic of his past milestone, and he looks over at his side, his son holding his hand. _His greatest creation._

And finally knowing and realizing, that even without his suits, without his arc reactor, without his trick and toys.

_One thing they can't take away is that..._

_I am Iron Man._

* * *

**Author's Note:**

So that's it for Iron Man 3 arc. I hope you guys like it! I can't wait to hear what you think!

To my readers who are asking when do I update, it really depends if I have the ideas organized in mind and the time to type it all. Last April when I first started to write this story, I update almost every five days, weekly per se, because I'm pumped, writing this always excites me, an escape from reality. Then last month I only updated once since I'm on vacation. Now, I'll try and update again weekly or maybe sooner than that if I can. ;)

Please do not hesitate to give a review. And thank you so much for those reviews, favorites, and follows. You guys, rock!


	19. Chapter 19

Sweat droplets begin to run down his face and back as he prepared his batting stance. He exhaled a big breath to calm his nerves.

He tried to remember all he learned regarding baseball when Dad once rented the Yankees stadium just to play a game for themselves. Dad even invited The Mets to be their opponent. The Avengers are all there, except Thor, Uncle Rhodes is with them, Pepper, Happy, Agent Hill, Director Fury, and they all wished Agent Coulson could've been there to join them. It was the first time he learned how to play the sport with Steve as his teacher, along with the guidance of The Mets team. He has been fond of sports ever since he was a kid, but when his lungs were impaired from the dengue fever, over time he just had withdrawn from being a player to just being a watcher.

He's pulled back into the present when Flash mockingly laughed in front of him as the pitcher. "Ready this time, Penis Parker?"

His facial muscles around his mouth grew tense. It's their last attempt to score before the other team can win and he hates how middle schooler's can be unforgiving and competitive when it comes to sports.

"Don't mind him, dude." Ned murmured beside him who's the catcher. He gave his bestfriend a tight-lipped smile. "Yeah." _I can do this._

Game starts and Flash as the best thrower of their team, flawlessly throws the ball to him, but before he can even hit, Ned catches it.

"Too slow, Parker! Are you even going to hit the ball?" Flash shouted while giving a sneer.

"Come on, Stark. Throw some juice in there." Coach clapped and game starts again.

_Why do I have to suck at sports? Why can't practical's at PE just be written exams?_

He pushed away his bickering thoughts and this time, with a more convincing fluid swing, he managed to hit the ball and it flew into a long distance. Loud cheers from everyone erupted as Peter realized what he did. This is the first time he managed to swing perfectly like that!

He runs as fast as possible to the first base and made it while the center fielder is still trying to catch the ball.

Ned beamed proud and Flash's mouth agape as he disbelievingly watched his most hated classmate attempts for a home run.

_Come on. Come on. Come on._ "Lungs don't give up on me now." Peter muttered as he made it to the third base. One more base to go!

The center fielder catches the ball and immediately throws it to the baseman near Peter. The girls screamed and he grinned as he's about to reach home base, he's finally there!

But his excitement was cut short when suddenly a baseman with a ball in its hand tagged him out. And just like that, a different cheer was heard. The other team won and Flash jumped in happiness, while Peter started to feel the exhaustion and sits back at the ground catching his breath. It was the farthest thing he ran at the shortest time. The adrenaline pushed him through and now his lungs are catching up with him.

As he watches the other team rejoice, heaving heavy breaths, a hand reached in front of him and helped him back up.

"That's a pretty badass swing." Ned tapped his arm.

"Thanks. Congrats though," Ned just smiled and shrugged his shoulders and they started to walk back inside as Coach gathered them up.

"My legs feel like jello."

"You'll sure do after running like that."

* * *

After having a relaxing hot shower and devouring food at lunch, Peter and Ned started to walk back to their locker area to gather their things. Ned was recalling how Liz and the other girls started cheering on him when he was sprinting onto the bases, and Peter can't believe of that ever happening.

They were on their way to class when he saw a bunch of people in white coats coming towards them, and Peter stopped in his tracks which made Ned look back at him.

Ned's brows knitted in confusion. "Peter? You okay?"

He just found himself frozen as color drained out of his face. He looks at his hands now shacking and the memories of his abduction started playing in his mind like a broken record. It's been almost two years now since he has been kidnapped, a year since he last had a panic attack. His counselling sessions had lasted for a year and his psychiatrist cleared him already. _We thought it's gone now_, he thought it's over, he can freely see some Doctors at the R&D labs and it didn't bother him. _But why..._

Flash bumped along Peter's back as Peter still can't move a muscle, he and his friends were on their way to the same class.

"Well, well.. What do we have here,"

Flash tapped his shoulder wearing a sarcastic smile, "Nice try earlier, wimp. Too bad, Jones tagged you first,"

Flash called out to Jones who's now coming their way, "Hey, Jones! Say sorry here, Parker looked like he just shit his pants!"

A booming laughter roared around and Peter just heaved heavy breaths as people around him started to thicken, different laughter, different noises seem to blur around.

"I need- I need to get out of here." He mumbled under his breath.

He feels like he's being sucked out of air. Peter tried to walk free but one of the boys clutched his hoodie. They started circling around him.

Another laughter was heard. "Trying to get away now, Parker? We're not yet finished."

"Let me go." Peter clasped the straps of his bagpack as fear crossed his face, he can't be in a tight closed space.

_Oh no, no, no. I can't, I can't go through that again._

It's one of the things that trigger his PTSD, but no one knows about it, not even Ned. He doesn't want anyone to know. He doesn't want anyone giving him a pitying look, he doesn't want anyone to look him the same way they looked at his previous school, that's why he begged Dad to never tell anyone in school about what happened in Florida, cause he doesn't want to add it to the _"list of things people need to be wary about Peter_" kind of list.

"Get away from him! Peter!" He heard Ned now shouting at the back but he can't see him, these guys are much taller than them.

His breathing hitched, antagonizing memories splattering as laughter grows.

If he doesn't do anything now, he's sure he's going to die. In a jolt of reflex he reached out to the emergency side pocket of his bagpack and pulled out his piñata for a cricket/flare canister, closing his eyes, popping the piñata open.

In a split second a flashing light appeared, but not just that, a loud screeching noise echoed across the whole hall almost deafening to those surrounding him. Flash and his mates went on their knees and covered their ears.

As all of them recover, some of the boys started to get up and run, afraid of getting caught. Ned stared shocked on the scene that unfolded and hurriedly helped Peter back up. But before they can even run for their classrooms, Principal Morita showed up outraged as he inspects what happened.

"All of you, my office! Now!"

* * *

"Should we use the repulsors you designed for SHIELD?" Bruce asked Tony as he helped in designing the specs for Veronica.

The Science Bro's are on their toes again as they tweak and prepare the final design for the Hulkbuster armor that they're going to fly in orbit satellite in a few weeks.

Over the past six months, Bruce asked Tony, if they can build a backup armor in case The Hulk goes on a rampage and can't be controlled. Tony agreed, no questions asked, it's about time they build some precautionary measure for their big green guy, they all know how difficult it is to calm down The Hulk even on a planned fight, how much more it is if it's mind got disrupted.

"Yeah, we can, and we'll make it stronger to sustain flight even on increased weight. Let's throw in some rockets in there as well." Tony waved his hand as he includes rockets on the holgrammed armor in-front of them. He wanted to make sure this mark44 is capable of taking down the Hulk at any given circumstance.

"What are they going to do in it anyway? Did you ask?" Bruce looks over at Tony's side while he perfects the repeating systems and Tony raised a brow at him.

"There's no use asking cause we know SHIELD and their level of secrecy, clearance shit, whatever. Fury won't budge even if I asked him if it was to upgrade or repair their Helicarrier. He just said _"It was for the greater good."_ Whatever that means."

"But you tried to sneak in?"

Tony now gazed at him serious. "Well, yeah. But I can't seem to break in. Weird thing is my codes get deleted as soon as I started going through their deep shit. JARVIS can't even get through."

"Any word on Steve and Natasha?"

"Still nothing for like, what? I think two weeks now."

Bruce forehead creased. "Are they going solo now? Like Thor in London? I hope they don't forget we're still "The Avengers". Protectors of the free world, hello?"

Tony chuckled as he never thought of Bruce saying that. He clearly remembered the scientist saying that they're just a chemical mixture that makes chaos, but now things have turned upside down. He once thought that he's the only protector and defender of the free world when it's just Iron Man in the superhero business but now he has team that he can rely on.

Steve and Natasha soon came back at SHIELD missions after a month of being at the Tower after the battle on the norco. They rarely get to see their other team members and only on special occasions. Any world threatening event that may have occurred recently, it seems all of them already figured it out on their own as with what happened with Thor in London just a few months ago. They only saw the portals through the news and the ruins it caused from his battle with the other alien creatures.

"Forgive me, Banner. Malekith has this dark magic powered by the Aether, which can't be subjugated by any humans, although it would be a delight to see you try and smash him into the gates of Hel."

Thor put his hand on Bruce shoulder smiling and put his other hand into Tony's shoulder. "And you my friend, of course could have more powerful devices than Selvig's, but you know, my Jane did handled all of it, and there's no more time to call upon here."

After the Battle of Greenwich, Thor came back to Jane, but then came back at the Tower soon after a month. Whatever the reason was, it was surely their love life under the rocks.

Tony smiled while patting Thor's steady grip on him. "Yeah, yeah. We got it, point break."

The ringing of his phone alerted them after, and Tony went to grab it. A cold shiver ran through his back and he paled at the sight of the caller ID. Has something bad happened to Peter? His heart thuds frantic and he immediately answered the call.

"Mr. Stark. We need you to come here-"

"Is Peter, alright? Is he okay?" Tony felt like his stomach was about to turn upside down from anxiety. He can't take another bad thing happening to Peter. Peter has gone through so much already.

"He's okay now, Mr. Stark. We have something to discuss. It's best if you can come here immediately." _He's okay now. Now? What happened earlier?_

"I'll be there in five minutes." Tony immediately grabbed his blazer and signature red eyeglasses and went out of the lab while Bruce and Thor concerned gazes followed through. "Tony, what happened?" Bruce asked as he hurriedly followed along.

"I don't know. Something happened to Peter, I need to be there." His head was spiraling out of fear. Peter may have been cleared of his PTSD, but there's still a possibility of it being triggered by unforeseeable circumstances. Did he had an attack? Has he been attacked? Has he been bullied? Is he hurt?

"Hey, Tony. Tony, where are you going?," Bruce finally catches up to him and grabbed him to stop. Tony was going the wrong way instead of the garage where his car is, he's going where the Iron Man suit is.

"Hey, breathe. They said he was okay? Right?," Tony nodded, "Okay then, you don't need to blow up a bunch of kids at school using the suit. We go to the garage, to your car, we'll come with you."

Tony was about to refuse but figured Bruce was right, and he doesn't have any time to argue. The three of them hopped into the car and it was the fastest driving speed Bruce and Thor ever witnessed and felt in their entire life. Tony still insisted that the suit come with them. The mark43 landed on Midtown Tech the same time they arrived.

He hurriedly went to the front doors to the Principal's office while Bruce and Thor followed behind. They silently thanked that no students roamed around the halls at this hour as all classes are still on-going. As his steps go nearer, the heavy feeling of worry burrowed through his gut.

Peter looked down at his hand fidgeting as he receives dagger looks from Flash in front of him. Ned was with him earlier as they explained everything that happened. Principal Morita insisted that all who's at the sidelines go back to class and all the boys with Flash will receive detention for a week. Since Flash was the one who primarily bullied Peter and Peter was the one who triggered the canister, they're the one's left for displaying hostile behavior on school grounds as they wait for their parents.

He's worried about what Dad's reaction might be. Is he going to be upset, to be disappointed?

The principal's office door swung open and Tony's eyes immediately searched for his son.

"Dad." Peter was startled, in fact all of them are, especially Flash. Principal Morita has always been star-strucked everytime he's infront of Tony Stark, and now they can even see Bruce and Thor in the flesh.

Without even glancing at anyone in the room, Tony's arms flew straight to Peter embracing him and kissed his side of the head.

"Are you hurt? What happened?" He heaved a sigh of relief once he observed his son is still perfect as he always is, he glanced at Principal Morita waiting for an explanation.

"Dad, I'm sorry," Peter started to ramble as he tried to explain, "I panicked, I used the canister. There were men in white coats and I just, I don't know... I can't move, then my classmates started to circle around me, I don't know what to do. I didn't mean it."

"Hey, bud. It's okay, it's okay. You did what you have to do. I'm not mad." Tony looked at his son directly, calming him and caressed his cheek.

Right then, the door opened again and Mr. Thompson came in and immediately went to check on Flash. That's when Tony realized, since he's too preoccupied in checking Peter as his top priority, that he forgot there's another kid in the room.

His hunch was right all along, _it was because of this bully_.

Principal Morita started to explain what happened before any of the parents can get ahead of themselves and conclude things the other way. He also explained that the men with white coats are part of the American Medical Association's program that gives talks of inspiration to middle and high school students to take Medicine in the future.

"I'm sorry Mr. Stark. We didn't know that Peter still has the white coat syndrome. I initially thought he was cleared from it."

Tony shot a look at Bruce. "We thought so too since he always see Doctors now at the tower, but then maybe, it just isn't present when we're at home because he always feels safe in there."

Principal Morita now turned his gaze to Mr. Thompson to conclude the incident.

"Our school policy does not tolerate hostile or bullying behavior Mr. Thompson, and to say the least your son has shown this over the past year and we have already warned him of not doing it again. Now, this incident has shown, it has reached its limits when Eugene went too far and cornered Peter along with his friends. Those kids would face detention for a week, but Flash would have to be suspended to reflect on his actions for being the main offender in this incident."

Mr. Thompson irritably stood up, the anger he's trying to conceal ever since he got the call, has eventually erupted.

"Suspended? Eugene as the main offender? Are you serious? Who did open that goddamn device that almost deafens and blinded every student especially my son? It was him, isn't it?" He pointed a finger at Peter and Tony stood up to protect his son, releasing his own anger out.

"Don't you dare point your finger at my son, or I will end you."

Tension was felt around the room, as Tony piercingly stared into Mr. Thompson's soul with intent to kill. There are no hesitations, in any second he can summon his Iron Man armor waiting outside, or even without his suit, he can surely take on this guy. If it's about protecting Peter, he won't have a second thought. Anyone who comes after his son is dead now anyway. He's been trying to be casual and conceal his anger while Morita explained everything to them earlier, for the sake of Peter.

_But to accuse my son of being offensive? He's just trying to defend himself, you son of a bitch!_

He specifically designed that weapon and gave it to Peter in case of emergency. Ever since the kidnapping, he developed small weapons that Peter can use anytime, anywhere, in case he's not around to protect him. He promised himself to not let the same thing happen all over again.

"Tony, calm down." Bruce whispered to Tony as he tries to push Tony back away and put some sense into him before he can make any rash decisions that can eventually put him behind bars, but Tony won't budge. That's when Peter and Flash started to pull their Dads back down; Mr. Thompson put his finger away now and started to go back to his seat.

When Tony felt his son enveloped his arm around him, it's when he finally started to calm down. Principal Morita continued and explained that Flash will have a three day suspension with C- on his conduct, while Peter will have a one day suspension for bringing and using an offensive device on school grounds. The kids accepted their punishment even though Mr. Thompson still has a disappointing sneer left on his face.

All of them went out of the office but before they went back to the Tower, Peter visited Ned first, and they boy's face lit up as he saw the rest of the Avengers with them.

"Oh my God, Mr. Thor, Mr. Banner!" Ned gushed outside the classroom as he stared at Bruce and Thor who now awkwardly stands in front of the kid.

"Hey kid, nice to see you again." Thor greeted smiling as he pats Ned's hair.

"Come by at the Tower some time." Bruce said and it seems as Ned suddenly developed heart eyes at them. They watched as Peter told his bestfriend what happened and said his goodbye.

Tony observed as Mr. Thompson now started to scold Flash as both father and son walked away from their direction. How can he blame that kid for acting in such disturbing way to other people, when his father can be so demanding, just noticing all the kid's mistakes and not his triumphs. He somehow understands what Flash was going through, and decided to give the kid a break. That kid just wants love and understanding, attention. Something that he also experienced when he was a kid. He hopes Thompson will just realize that one day.

* * *

They next day, Peter stayed at home to spend his class suspension and stayed at the lab with Dad and Bruce. Peter sat at Thor's lap as he taught the god how to use the Starkpad and phone while Tony and Bruce finished designing Veronica. For almost two years, Peters still has his baby face features, as a 10 year old kid, he has grown a few inches taller but he's still the skinny kid in their class. His vision has also blurred and he's been wearing graded eyeglasses for almost a year now.

JARVIS was about to begin construction when Thor argued that they don't need a hulkbuster anymore since he's there to stop the Hulk anyway.

"You couldn't stop me before. Could you? The Hulk is unkillable, Thor. And this is for worst-case measure in case any of you guy's weren't around to stop me." Bruce answered putting the argument to rest.

"Except me, of course," Tony cut-in. "Someone still needs to control this armor from the inside."

Thor just nodded his head in agreement still not fully convinced. He's just so sure of himself that he can defeat the Hulk. "And why the name, "Veronica"?"

Tony gazed over at Bruce with a coy smile and laughed, mockingly teasing Bruce. Bruce was quite hesitant to tell the story for a bit but decided to let it out anyway.

"You know Archie comics, right? Do you know that?" Bruce's eyes squinted walking over at them.

Thor gave Peter a _"What's that? Help me."_ look and Peter started to show Thor what it is on the Starkpad. "What's the connection?"

"Well, I had a past girlfriend- lover... Anyway, her name is Betty. This Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge, they're one of the main characters in the comics. And Veronica, she's the complete opposite of Betty, so I figured, just name it after her."

"Betty can't stop the Hulk so maybe Veronica will," Peter concluded and a silence came, but everyone soon laughed after.

"That's just silly." Peter giggled and Thor decided to fix them something to eat while he holds Peter's hand with him.

They were on their way out of the lab when the automatic windows of the whole Tower shut closed on lock down. Ever since the invasion and the destruction of the Malibu mansion, Tony and Pepper have upgraded the design of the Tower and doubled the security of it. The lock down only happens if Tony commanded it on purpose or if JARVIS knows and sensed that an incoming threat is about to approach.

Tony's forehead creased as his mind wandered alarmingly to what might be going on and he immediately went to Thor to hold Peter in his arms.

"JARVIS, talk to me. What's going on?"

"Our systems have just intercepted what's going on in DC, Sir. SHIELD built three new set of helicarriers as part of Project Insight designed to proactively strike out against potential threats to the US before they actually happened. But Captain Rogers and Agent Romanoff relayed on a coded message that they found out that Hydra infiltrated in all of SHIELD."

JARVIS summarized all the details in a hologram in front of them.

Tony was very familiar with Hydra because of Howard's tales about it and he knows Hydra's obsession with absolute control of everything. He was surprised that Fury didn't even sense that Hydra was hiding all along in their organization. And the fact that JARVIS didn't even hacked this information when they were in the helicarrier when they were still locating the Teserract means that Hydra's plans were buried deeper than they expected.

"Where are they now?"

"They're currently in Triskellion now, Sir. HYDRA planned on using Arnim Zola's algorithm to root out individuals that would oppose or threaten HYDRA's goals. The algorithm used every variable of a person's life such as bank records, voting patterns, and even standardized testing scores. They will use this Helicarriers to kill all these individuals and there's no stopping it once it goes online."

"Who are these targeted individuals?" Tony asked out of curiosity and the list of all the targeted individuals goes on in hundreds of thousands all around the US. The list includes hundreds of his scientist and doctors inside the Tower. Them as the Avengers as he suspected but the one that shocked him the most is that why is Peter included. _My son is just a kid, who would even think that he's kind of a threat to anyone?_ His anger and tension grows by the minute as anytime now, his son might get targeted. He's sure of the strength and durability the lock down can hold, but it depends on how much force it can withstand.

"How many more minutes, JARVIS? Get me Hill, Fury or anyone that can talk to me." In a few seconds, Hill answered the call.

"Hill, how long we've got? Why didn't you called for help sooner?"

"Mr. Stark, I'm sorry but it's too risky. When Steve and Natasha found out, they insisted that they take care of this on the inside. They know Peter will be safest there with you, Bruce, and Thor. They're already on their way to change the targeting systems of the helicarrier to fire on each other. They're close, we got three minutes."

The call ended and all of them stared in silence as the seconds' ticked-tock. There must be chaos happening in DC right now. If Hydra will succeed, it will be catastrophic to the world, hundreds of thousands will be lost, but they have nothing now but hope that the team in DC will succeed on their mission.

Peter gripped his hand tightly around Dad's waist.

"The defense system of the Tower can protect us for a time period but it is limited on how much force it can withstand," Tony started to type in and releases the metal containment shell that has finished completion months ago. This is the first part that will be added to the hulkbuster. Bruce and Thor immediately got what Tony was doing when the shell was opened.

"Bruce, Thor, protect the targets inside the Tower once the carriers infiltrated through. We find a way to destroy the helicarrier, after. I got Peter right here."

"Dad, no." Peter gripped into Tony securely and won't let go.

_One minute left._

Every second counts and Tony will absolutely protect Peter at all cost even over his dead body. "Bud, I'm just right here. I have the suit, but we have no choice. I can't protect you here alone. I need to keep you safe."

Peter buried himself more into Tony's. He's afraid, he's afraid that something might happen to Dad again.

They all stared at the clock in the hologram screen mirrored from Hill's data, _10 seconds_. The systems are still targeting. Tony summoned his mark43 and in a second he puts on the Iron Man suit. Thor put on his battle suit in a plunge of his hammer and Bruce got ready to release the Hulk.

The intercom from the other line announced. "Firing in, three, two, one..."

Tony kneeled in to hug Peter keeping him safe in his arms while Peter burrowed his head in Dad's neck.

"Charlie locked." Captain America's voice echoed through the silence of the lab and they all stared into one another heaving a sigh of relief.

The shield windows around the tower automatically reversed back, powering down and JARVIS announced to all the floors that it is now safe.

Over the next few days, the Triskellion SHIELD HQ was destroyed, public officials who were goons of Hydra were arrested, Fury was dead or what he would like others to believe, and Natasha decided to inform the world of SHIELD's secrets, even if it includes her red ledger's past. They thought secrets kept the world safe, but it is these secrets that made the world more vulnerable, so instead it is time to let everything out, let transparency be the disinfectant of this world against vicious schemes.

But before the world can ever read or share Mary's files, Tony made sure that he's the only one who have it, he deleted it from SHIELD's servers, deleted the traces before anyone can ever see it. The one thing that bothered him though is if Mary's pet was included in that Triskellion ruins, has this research got destroyed along the ruins in the fall of SHIELD?

He certainly hopes so.

Natasha recounted the story of everything that happened the day after her committee hearing. Steve and Nat moved in with the rest of the team in the Tower. Hill and other agents that wanted to seek employment to Stark Industries were given opportunities.

And since SHIELD is no longer, Tony decided to re-brand the Stark Tower, and made it to the Avengers Tower as their main HQ. Soon, the old warehouse will complete its renovation, and it will be the official Headquarters of the Avengers.

* * *

It was one chill Saturday afternoon when the team were all around the living room of the Penthouse. Clint is just mostly out for an unknown reason and just visits every once in a while. Each of them has their own rooms downstairs but everyone just feels comfortable hanging out with the Starks in their pad every once in a while. There's a silent music in the background as each do their own thing.

"Hey guys.." Thor said as he tries to capture the attention of everyone but a familiar song suddenly played through.

**_You are my fire_**

Tony raised a brow, and gazed upon Peter who just sang one of the most popular songs of the 90's while answering his homework.

He smiled as he joined in... **_my one desire_**

Peter stared at Dad who sang the next lyrics and laughed.

In a half-asleep presence, Bruce continued... **_Believe when I say_**

As Natasha put on the juices she prepared to the table, she thought why not... **_I want it that way_**

**_Tell me whhhyy!_** Clint suddenly burst out singing and Peter laughed.

In a chorus they all sing... _**Ain't nothing but a heartache**_

**_Telllll me why!_ **Clint sang in a more falsetto voice, more dramatic this time.

**_Ain't nothing but a mistake_**

**_Tell me why…_**

Tony got up from laying on the sofa, **_I never want to hear you say_**

Peter stands up dramatically and loudly sings, **_I WANT IT THAT WAY_**

It is as if it's a show on broadway, Steve and Thor stared at each other and stared to them speechless of what's going on.

"Wha - What?" Steve and Thor muttered clueless and the rest of them lost it and burst out in laughter.

"Oh that was fun." Tony said as he brushed a tear that just formed from laughing.

As the team recovered from their show, Thor tried to continue and open up a topic that's been boggling him for days now.

"So, as I was saying, has any of you seen Loki's scepter? Was it ever recovered from SHIELD's mess?"

Suddenly, the room fell silent and all of the them looked at each other thinking. Ever since the invasion, no one has seen it. _Where was it?_

"Steve? Natasha?" Tony asked the former agents.

Steve and Natasha gazed at each other and both know that it slipped off their minds. The whole time with their missions, they thought it was on a safe place. _But really? Is it?_

"Clint?" Bruce asked.

Clint shacked his head for a no.

Steve's expression hardened. "None of us knew, no one has ever seen it since and we can't ask Fury now." The rest of the team thinks Fury's dead but they don't know that Steve also doesn't know how to contact the man.

"Then I guess we better start finding it." Thor said as mjolnir flies into his hand.

* * *

**AUTHOR's NOTE:**

I hope you all enjoyed reading! A post from _spidxyyy_ in tumblr gave me an idea to include the last scene cause I thought it was too cute, credits goes to him/her. I know i said i will update weekly but realized I can't. What I can do realistically is just a monthly update. My med journey is starting in a few weeks and I need to prioritize studying over anything. Writing really gives me so much joy though so I'll do my best to finish this story even on a monthly update.

Your reviews, favorites, and follows are all appreciated. Thank you so much for reading!


	20. Chapter 20

"When are you going to tell him?," Natasha asked as she pick up a gun she's going to use. A few guns, knives, and bombs in her arsenal of high-tech weaponry made by Stark Industries. The perfect set for an assassin.

She's been wondering for months now. Waiting when he's going to tell what they found out in that bunker.

Steve lifted his head up and glanced at her with no response.

"Or I guess, you're not planning on telling him at all."

Steve looked at her then gazed upon the man she's talking about. He sighed as he stand up and pick up his shield.

"Not now, Natasha. We've got more things to worry about."

Steve started to walk downstairs to the platform where the jet is.

"Steve," Her authoritative voice made him stop in his tracks. She knew it isn't her place but she can't help but feel like she has some sort of obligation to protect these friends that she's already treating like family for the past few months.

She walked and stood beside him staring at the rest of their teammates getting ready loading up their supplies for their hopefully last search to find the scepter.

"Tony's going to want to hear the truth from you. Don't let him know it from someone else's."

She started to walk away from him and Steve found himself lost for words and lost in thought. She has a point and it's the right thing to do. But this is _Bucky_. His only friend back then who's been with him when he has nothing. His bestfriend whom he found out alive but brainwashed to a completely different person. A person that some might call a monster for the terrible things he has done.

He sighed once again as he finally decided.

He can't ruin the trust that he's finally rebuilding with Tony ever since Miami. Revealing this secret will hurt the Starks more than ever and even ruin their forged friendship that can even compromise this mission.

_It can wait_.

* * *

"We'll be back before you know it, bud." Tony caressed Peter's cheek. It is supposedly the last of their raids. They've finally located where the scepter might be is. But every time he say goodbye to Peter, he feels as if he doesn't want to leave anymore.

Everytime after their missions, he looks forward to going home and see his son's face again, to spend more time with him.

If only there can be a world where he doesn't have to worry every single time for the safety of his family, a world where they can be protected from any harm.

"The last time you said that you didn't go home for three months Dad. You almost died."

Tony's forehead scrunched up as he remembered. A lot of years have passed but Peter as a child can still remember that. A tragedy that created Iron Man and ever since then changed the course of their lives forever.

"We are sure to keep your father off from trouble, Peter. We got him, or he got us, more likely." Thor grinned tapping Peter's shoulders as he walked past them and Tony just rolled his eyes.

Peter smiled as the rest of the team smiled at him reassuring him it's going to be alright. They're all going to come home safe.

"No need to track me, okay? We're going to Sokovia. In and out, once we found the scepter," Peter was about to protest and deny but Tony already stopped him from trying. "You thought I wouldn't found out didn't you?"

Peter wore a sheepish grin and shrugged. "It was worth a try."

He was careful and he had consistency upgraded his tracking code in JARVIS' server but of course Dad had his ways of eventually finding out.

Dad ruffled his curly hair. "Come're.."

Tony opened his arms and Peter immediately went for a tight embrace. "I love you, Dad."

Tony kissed his head and the smell of Peter's baby powder scented hair washed all over relaxing him almost making him not want to leave. "I love you tons, bud."

* * *

"Shit!"

Tony grunted as he hit and bounced off the base's force field. He covers all the aerial assault while the rest of the team attacks at the ground through.

"Language! JARVIS, what's the view from upstairs?"

From the Stark satellite system, JARVIS analyzed the tech, perimeter, and all the defenses surrounding the whole area. "The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield. Strucker's technology is well beyond any other Hydra base we've taken."

Thor jumped from a tree to make a surprise attack knocking every man down with his hammer.

"Loki's scepter must be here. Strucker couldn't mount this defense without it. At long last."

Natasha deployed a bomb and knocks out some soldiers.

"At long last is lasting a little long, boys."

Clint shoots his arrow bulls-eye destroying a bunker. "Yeah. I think we lost the element of surprise."

Tony flew through a line of guards and beams them off with his repulsors. "Wait a second. No one else is going to deal with the fact that Cap just said "language?"

"I know," Steve throws his bike at some soldiers driving up in their truck. "It just slipped out."

Tony grinned under his helmet as Steve always impulsively reprimands them to stop saying bad words especially in front of Peter when they're hanging out at home.

He started to send in the Iron Legion to care for civilians at the city. They try to get all the guards down as they close in on the base. As Clint tries to shoot another arrow to the bunker, he was knocked down by an unseen force. He tries to shoot the speedy figure again but the bunker got him first.

The blur tried to knock off Cap but he easily bounced back on his feet without difficulty. "We have an enhanced in the field."

"Clint's hit!," Natasha rushed toward Barton lying down. "Somebody want to deal with that bunker?,"

In a swift moment, Hulk came to the rescue and destroyed the bunker. "Thank you."

"Stark, we really need to get inside." Cap said as he fights off guards in his way.

Tony closed in and analyzed the power source. Once he found the pathway below the north tower, he blows it up and the invisible shield of the base powered down. "Drawbridge is down, people."

"Clint's hit pretty bad, guys. We're gonna need evac."

"I can get Barton to the jet. The sooner we're gone the better. You and Stark secure the scepter." Thor directed to Steve as they get ready for the approaching soldiers in their HYDRA tank.

"Copy that."

Thor pounds on Steve's shield with his hammer and the force knocks down all the soldiers in increasing massive amount.

"Find the scepter." Before long he flies off.

"And for gosh sake, watch your language!" Tony joshed as he flew up to the headquarters of the base.

Steve sighed. "That's not going away anytime soon."

Tony broke in the window and the guards started firing at him nonstop but they should know this by now, no bullet can destroy or penetrate the suit.

"Guys, stop, we gotta talk about this."

In a one fell swoop, he shoots them off knocking them down all at once. He then found List trying to hijack all the files and he blasted him off.

Stepping off his suit and putting the suit into sentry mode - an autonomous system in his suit that can talk or perform actions in his command.

He walked over to the computers, "Okay, JARVIS. You know I want it all. Make sure you copy Hill at HQ,"

He stared across the room. A base this big and protected, there's got to be more shenanigans in Strucker's sleeve where the scepter is located.

"I know you're hiding more than files. Hey, J, give me an IR scan of the room, real quick."

"The wall to your left...I'm reading steel reinforcement and an air current."

He walked over the wall whispering to himself. "Please be a secret door, please be a secret door, please be a secret door..."

He pushes the wall and it miraculously opens up revealing a secret passageway. "Yay!"

Curiosity killed the cat, Tony started to walk downstairs through the barely lit passageway. He knew he should at least wait for backup, backup being referred to as Steve to show up, but most probably, the old man is being preoccupied at the moment. He can hear Cap at the intercom asking Strucker about the scepter and the enhanced.

The sooner they get the scepter, the sooner they can get out and finish the mission.

The saw light at the end of the tunnel and to his surprise, a museum like dome that houses a dead chitauri leviathan welcomed him.

"Guys, I got Strucker." Cap announced.

"Yeah, I got...something bigger."

He saw recovered artifacts from the Battle of New York. Who would've thought, of course Hydra and Shield would try to harness power from alien life. Scrapped materials also got his attention. They're also trying to replicate his Iron Man armor.

A glowing blue light caught his eye as he spots the scepter being dawned in an energy source. "Thor, I got eyes on the prize."

His eyes lit up as he stepped closer, he can hear Thor on the intercom but slowly the sound fades and now he can hear no one. The area became cold, air becoming brisk. He felt the hair on the back of his neck stood up, then the familiar sound of alien life he once fought came to life. The roaring sound of the leviathan floated in front of him, shocking him that he almost loses his balance. He's not in Hydra's base anymore, he's in space.

What is happening...

Tony couldn't keep his eyes off, he's staring towards a large wormhole exposing Earth, thousand times larger than New York. Too real to even question if this is just a figment of his imagination, a vision, or reality.

Hundreds of leviathan coming over it, ready to invade and destroy his home. He needs to stop it. But he was frozen in his tracks as his whole body started to shake,

_It can't be_...

His friends, the world's mightiest heroes, all dead and on top of the pile of dead bodies. Sweat dripped from his head as he stared disbelievingly.

Hulk, Natasha, Clint, Thor, and Steve... _beaten and lifeless_.

He stepped closer.. to see, to check their pulse, to make sure... but he stepped into a stuffed toy that squeaked, he picked it up and noticed it was Peter's favorite toy when he was little. His heart started to panic as he lifted his head up and there he is. NO!

No, no, no.

He tried to run even though it felt like his whole energy is being drained out.

"Peter... Wake up baby. No." He cradled his son. His life. Pure innocent eyes are long gone, joyful smiles replaced by bloodshed suffering. Tony checked for Peter's pulse but none.

He then noticed Pepper and Happy beside them also dead. This can't be happening. His eyes clouded with unshed tears that won't drop because he can't accept.

He can't accept any of it.

Suddenly, a cold hand and bloodshot eyes startled him cold. A faint cry of plead. "Dad, why didn't you saved us. You could've..."

Tony stared at his son completely at a loss as Peter slowly closes his eyes and dies in his arms. Grief, sadness, anger all in a mix that he doesn't even know what to respond, what to do.

And the only voice that clouded his mind was Peter saying... _Why didn't you do more?_

His breathing hitched as he snaps back into reality. He's back in the base. No outer space, no floating leviathan, no dead bodies. His knees became weak and he stumbled on the floor.

He felt it all too real, a vision, a fake? An illusion from the enhanced? He doesn't care anymore.

The glimmer of the scepter shined in power as he stood back up. In full determination, his armor came to him, and in a swift moment he snatched the scepter into his hand. He cannot let anything like that to ever happen.

Life or death, he'll do everything in his power to prevent it.

* * *

"Tony, you okay?," Tony snaps out of his haze as he pilots the aircraft. He can hear the soft bantering of Thor earlier but can't help his mind to wander off. He tried to remain calm when he brought the scepter to the jet earlier but he's been quiet and Steve being all too observant knew something's off.

"You look pretty shaken earlier, something happened?"

Tony masked a smile and tries to act everything's cool. If he tells the things he saw, that he's been compromised, they won't let him anywhere near the scepter.

"No. no. Just a bit tired that's all. In fact, all of us are." He glanced at Clint and Bruce that looks a lot worse than him.

"Yeah, well. If there's anything. Let me know." Cap gave him a sincere smile that he only shows in front of friends and went to talk to Thor.

"Hey Banner, Dr. Cho's on her way in from Seoul, is it okay if she sets up in your lab?" Tony asked as he reads the incoming message from Hill. He hired Dr. Cho last year to be one of the Avenger's doctors in case someone gets hit pretty bad. Her medical research on tissue regeneration is greatly beneficial for them, even if he has to fly her from Seoul to NYC every now and then, it won't be a big deal.

"Uh, yeah, she knows her way around."

"Thanks."

Tony turned to his trusted co-pilot and assistant to everything. "JARVIS, tell her to prep everything, Barton's gonna need the full treatment."

"Very good sir."

"Take the wheel." He pressed the last of the buttons that controls auto-pilot and glanced at some of the stickers Peter stacked randomly inside the jet. Somehow, no matter where he is, the silliest of things will always reminds him of his son.

"Yes, sir. Approach vector is locked."

Tony started to walk towards the scepter where Steve and Thor were looking into. All that was needed was to convince them.

"It feels good, yeah? I mean, you've been after this thing since SHIELD collapsed. Not that I haven't enjoyed our little raiding parties, but..."

"No, but this...this brings it to a close."

"As soon as we find out what else this has been used for. I don't just mean weapons."

Tony stared into the scepter, it feels like it's drawing itself to him. He needed to look more into it. Something tells him, it holds the key. He needed a few days, maybe more. To whatever it is, he's going to find out.

"Banner and I'll give it the once before it goes back to Asgard. Is that cool with you? I mean, just a few days until the farewell party. You're staying right?"

Thor grinned, parties on Midgard would be nothing compared to Asgard, but to Hel with it, it's a party still. "Yes, yes, of course. A victory should be honored with revels."

"Yeah. Who doesn't love revels. Captain?" Tony asked. He needed the full confidence of their Captain if he's going to do this without suspicion and interruption.

"Hopefully this puts an end to the Chitauri and HYDRA, so. Yes, revels."

* * *

As the jet landed at the Penthouse, the more Tony became jittery to go and get out. He knew Peter is okay. He's safe, but to feel and hold him alive in his arms, that's what he need. _Assurance_.

Clint came off first in a stretcher and was welcomed by Dr. Cho with the rest of her nurses. Nat, Thor, and Bruce came with him.

Cap and Hill started to talk about the enhanced and went off the jet.

When he was finally alone on the jet with no one to see his true emotions, that's when he finally sat and sigh a shudder of restlessness. That vision was completely traumatic. He brushed off his face as he tried to compose himself.

"_Dad!_" A loud happy voice called out and he turned his chair towards where the voice came from.

Peter's beautiful face welcomed him home. His son, alive, happy, and well running towards him. He doesn't want to let go of the sight. He wants to stop time and let this moment last forever.

He stood up with open arms and they embraced each other. Tony closed his eyes and thanked that this is the one that's real.

Peter felt as if Dad's hug has been tighter than usual. "Dad.. can't breathe."

"Sorry bud." Tony grinned as a tear escaped his eye that he quickly brushed off so Peter won't notice. He caressed Peter's face taking into detail Peter's features in his mind.

_I won't let anything bad happen to you, baby._

"What happened at Sokovia? What happened to Sir Clint?" Peter holds his hand as they walk inside the Tower.

"Mission accomplished and let's go check on him to find out. So how's school? What have you been up to?"

* * *

"What's the rumpus?" Bruce asked as he and Tony started to walk into the lab where the scepter is. Peter is with Nat and the rest of the team as they share the stories of what happened in Sokovia.

"Well, the scepter. You see, we were wondering how Strucker got so inventive. So, I've been analyzing the gem inside you may recognize,"

Tony brings up a yellow 3D image of Jarvis's consciousness and Bruce easily guessed it. He then brought up another 3D image of what's inside the scepter.

"It's beautiful. It's like it's thinking. I mean this could be a...it's not a human mind, it... I mean, look at this! They're like neurons firing."

"Down in Strucker's lab I saw some fairly advanced robotics work. They deep-sixed the data, but...I gotta guess he was knocking on a very particular door."

"Artificial intelligence."

"This could be it, Bruce. This could be the key to creating _Ultron_."

They thought it was just a fantasy. Ultron was an idea beyond Tony's dreams. A peacekeeping AI designed to protect Earth from any and all domestic and extra-terrestrial threats coming within the future, making Earth a safer place for everyone. And if this goes well, he'll eventually get to leave the superhero business in peace.

"If we can harness this power and apply it to my Iron Legion protocol."

"That's a mad-sized if."

"Our job is "if." What if you were sipping margaritas on a sun-drenched beach turning brown instead of green? Not looking over your shoulder for VERONICA. What if the world was safe? What if next time aliens roll up to the club, and they will, they couldn't get past the bouncer? We can only do it while we have the scepter here, that's _three days_, give me three days."

"So you're going for artificial intelligence and you don't want to tell the team."

He doesn't need the team lecturing him on what to do. They're running out of time, if he's going to build this, he needs to do it now, before the chance gets taken away from him.

"We don't have time for a city hall debate. I don't want to hear the "man was not meant to meddle" medley. I see a suit of armor around the world."

"Sounds like a cold world, Tony."

Tony glanced at his son laughing, and then the lifeless face of Peter in his arms flashed back before his eyes. Something that he doesn't ever want to see. Something that no parent ever has to experience.

"I've seen colder. This one, this very vulnerable blue one? It needs Ultron. Peace in our time. Imagine that."

* * *

"Wow, Dad. You're still here at the lab? You've been here all night last night. What are you and Dr. Banner been working on?," Peter asked as he went inside the lab and put his bag-pack at one of the chairs. Happy was the one who picked him up from school which he found sort of strange since Dad always insisted on picking him up whenever they don't have missions. He grabbed an apple and took a bite as he stared at one of the calculations displayed on another monitor.

Peter's eyes squinted as he started to wonder why these configurations are somehow familiar to him. "Um, why is this similar to JARVIS's schematics?"

Bruce looked over at Tony waiting if he's going to tell the truth. Peter easily picks up things when it relates to tech and science, something that astonished the entire scientist at the Tower.

Tony hesitated for a second but figured why not. This can also be a learning opportunity for Peter. "Ultron."

Peter looked at his Dad in surprise. Did he heard it right?

"Ultron is real? What? Dad, how? Can I help?" Peter's voice slightly squealed. Something he does when he's excited. Dad said creating Ultron is only a fantasy. It will be impossible to create a high yield level of intelligence in an AI for large scale peacekeeping. If the science bro's are creating the most advanced AI in the world, there's absolutely no way that he's going to miss the chance to be part of it.

There are a lot of papers stacked at the floor and Tony was sitting in the middle of it. "Come over here and check these calculations with me. Oh wait, go do your homework first."

"Already done," Peter sat beside his Dad grinning and Tony shot his brow up at him. "I did it while I'm waiting for Happy to pick me up."

"Atta boy." Tony wrapped his arm around his son and gave him a kiss on his head before returning back to their work.

The next two days were spent trying different calculations, variations, and sentience integration trials of programs that can fit to the Ultron AI. Peter stayed with them helping after school until it's time for him to sleep. Stacks of codes mixed from the three of them, the highest IQ's in the world, and they're still far from completing the AI.

"What did we miss?" Tony asked as he stared into the last of their attempts that still results to nothing. He was the only one left alone in the lab, Bruce has already gone to catch up some sleep before the party begins and Peter's already coming home from school. He was tired with little sleep from the surge of caffeine in his system from the past two days.

"I'll continue to run variations on the interface, but you should probably prepare for your guests. I'll notify you if there are any developments. Enjoy yourself, Sir." JARVIS said and he started to walk out of the lab to have a little nap before the party. It's time to finally accept that Ultron is still far from their reach.

"Thanks, buddy. I always do."


	21. Chapter 21

The resounding lively music played through the entire party deck of the penthouse. Peter put on his suit moments before he walked out of his room through the elevators. He's wearing a semi-formal attire that matches his eyes. Totally different from his usual t-shirt and hoodie. It's been a while since he last went to a party. The last one they had was the benefit ball Dad hosted for the victims of the Battle of NY after the invasion.

When the elevator opened he saw Dad already there talking to Dr. Banner near the bar counter. Maybe they're discussing about Ultron.

Among those invited are veterans, scientists, doctors, and other agents. A few CEO's and business tycoons are also present. His eyes searched for Pepper but she's nowhere to be found. Guess she's still has last minute business to attend to.

His eyes also caught Sam, a friend of Steve's whom they met right after SHIELD collapsed. They are playing billiards with some veterans.

"There he is," Uncle Rhode's called out waving at him with Natasha. He ran to where they are and Uncle Rhodes hugged him.

"Wow champ, you've been taller since the last time I saw you. You're growing into a teenager already." Rhodes pointed out as he inspects Peter.

"I'm still the smallest in our class."

"Oh you just wait, you're going to tower on all of them soon."

"I highly doubt that Uncle Rhodes."

Rhodey patted his back and they sit on the nearby couch. The waiter came to them giving them drinks and entrees.

"Hey, little Stark. You look very handsome today." Natasha smiled as she fix some of his curls in place.

Peter grinned shyly. "Thanks, and you look very beautiful Ms. Romanoff, as always."

The team had already told him to just call them by their first names, but Peter just can't get used to calling them by first name basis. He feels it's too informal and disrespectful since he's still just a kid.

"How many times do I have to say, you can call me Natasha. Or you can call me Aunt if you're still feeling uncomfortable. It's been a long time since I've known you and your Dad, little Stark. It will be perfectly fine with me."

"Oh, okay... Aunt Nat." Peter smiled and was surprised that Natasha would be okay with that.

None of Dad's female friends he ever called Aunt. Even Dad's girlfriend, the woman closest to him, Pepper. He hasn't even thought of calling her Aunt even through the years. Maybe because she's the one closest to him to being his mother figure, so if he's going to call her other than her name, it will be calling her "_Mom_".

The hours passed and Uncle Rhodes told them stories of his diplomatic missions in different countries, different crowds loved it. Peter laughed when Uncle Rhodes' story didn't even sell and entertained Dad.

Thor told his other worldly adventures to the veterans and got into a drinking challenge with Steve and the other guys.

Dad slides his arm over his shoulders as they walked. "Okay, bud. Time for bed."

The waiters already cleaned up and the team was the only one left in the whole building still conversing on some stories.

"I'm not yet sleepy, Dad. I want to see if anyone of you can lift Mjolnir." They gazed upon the guys who's waiting for Tony before they start the contest.

"That's easy, I'll lift it, then I take Asgard from Thor, end of story," Dad pinched his nose. "It's almost midnight. Do you want me to tuck you to sleep? Sing a lullaby?"

"Dad c'mon, I'm not a baby anymore and Pepper said its okay since its Friday. Weekend tomorrow."

"You'll always be my baby, buddy. And when did you talk to her? Why didn't you call me?"

"You were busy talking science with Dr. Strange and Dr. Palmer earlier. It would be rude if I suddenly pull you from them. Are they together now?"

Dr. Palmer is still one of Peter's doctors and they've been in touch with her every now and then. They first met Dr. Strange when she introduced him to them as her colleague during the last benefit ball.

Tony's forehead creased. "Are they a thing? You sense gossip than me, kid. I'm kinda recruiting him as one of The Avenger's doctors. We could use him around like Dr. Cho during emergencies. His work on Neurosurgery is one of the best. Although his arrogance really gets to my nerves so I might really rethink that."

"It's not gossip Dad. I just observed. You two are no different you know."

"Hey, what does that mean?"

Tony's eyes squinted and Peter just laughed as they sit at the vacant space of the sofa.

"The Iron father and son duo are here, so should we get this started," Clint stood up and walked to the center of the table. All of them gazed as Clint grabs and tries to lift Mjolnir but it didn't even budge. He roared in laughter as his vein pops out from trying. "I still don't know how you do it!"

"Smell the silent judgment?" Dad said smirking and Peter rolled his eyes. Dad's arrogance will really get them in trouble. Dad stands up and unbuttoned his suit ready to lift the hammer up.

Natasha and Rhodey teased. "Uh oh, here we go."

"It's physics," Dad grasps the handle and tries to lift but still no budge. "I'll be right back,"

This time Tony's wearing _Lefty_, his left iron hand armor. With increased strength he tries again but fails. Uncle Rhodes now joined in and they tried to lift together to no success so they just returned to their seats.

"It's okay, Dad. Midgard needs you more than Asgard." Peter whispered and awe transformed Tony's face as he put his arm around his son's shoulder and their heads touched for a second.

Dr. Banner went to try next, he roars trying to scare them that he might change into the Hulk in any second but everyone just stared at him warily wondering except Natasha. She smiled at him as if saying _that's not going to work with us Bruce_.

Steve stood up for his turn, folding his sleeves as he gets ready. He starts pulling on the hammer and somehow miraculously manages to budge it a little. Thor saw it and it alarmed him but laughs it off as Steve still fails to lift. But Peter also saw it since he's watching so directly, his mouth hanged open in shock.

The team's now asking Natasha for her turn but Peter still can't believe if he saw it right. "Dad did you see that?"

"See what?"

He observed Thor's nervous laughter and Steve just humbly smiling. So he's the only one who saw it aside from Thor.

Dad stands up to pick up another beer. "The handle's imprinted, right? Like a security code. "Whosoever is carrying Thor's fingerprints" is, I think, the literal translation?"

"Yes, well that's, uh, that's a very, very interesting theory. I have a simpler one," Thor gets up, easily lifts his hammer and flips it. "You're all not worthy."

There were a chorus of boos from the team afterwards and Peter smirked for he knew better, someone else from the team might also be worthy.

Suddenly, an ear-splitting screeching noise stopped their laughter, causing everyone to cover their ears. They let their hands down as it fades.

"_Worthy,_"

It was a voice, like from someone coming from the grave.

They all turned to where it is coming from and saw a Legionnaire suit in an awful state, liquid chemical flowing from it.

"How could you be worthy? You're all killers."

Tony hid Peter on his back. "JARVIS. Reboot Legionnaire OS, we got a buggy suit."

There was no answer. He checked his phone for the security controls of the Tower. JARVIS knows everything that's going on. But it is as if everything's not working right now.

"There was a terrible noise...and I was tangled in... in...strings. I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy."

"You killed someone?" Steve asked. All of them are now on edge, confused but ready.

"JARVIS. He's the first line of defense." Peter mumbled as he hugged his Dad from the back. All of the adults glanced at him and remembered they got a child to protect.

Thor clenched his fist and grasped his hammer tighter. "Who sent you?"

Tony's voice replays from its speaker. "_I see a suit of armor around the world_".

"Ultron!" Bruce blurted in shock. But Tony can't believe it. They weren't even close to an interface. Most of all, Ultron isn't supposed to be like this. Ultron isn't even supposed to be alive. What could've successfully turned it sentient? All the trials failed.

"In the flesh. Or, no, not yet. Not this...chrysalis. But I'm ready. I'm on a mission."

The team felt like anytime now something bad is about to happen.

"What mission?"

"Peace in our time." The Iron Legion bots suddenly break smash through the walls into an attack on all of them. Steve defended using a table while the team take cover. Bruce and Natasha went inside the bar to get the extra guns hidden. Thor hammered and smashed all the bots that closes in on him.

"I got Peter, Tony." Rhodes assured as they saw a bot flying near them. Seeing Peter safe, Tony jumped to where the bot is and tries to disable its system through its neck, but as he managed to shut it down, Tony ungraciously fell and landed at the stairs through the shattered glass.

Steve and Thor managed to kill the bot that's about hit Dr. Cho.

Clint got a hold of Captain America's shield and threw it at him like a Frisbee and Steve destroys the last of the Iron Legion murder bot.

"That was dramatic! I'm sorry, I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to...evolve? With what? With these puppets? There's only one path to peace: The Avengers' extinction."

Thor throws in his hammer at Ultron smashing him to pieces.

A singing voice echoed even when the bot was destroyed. "I had strings, but now I'm free."

* * *

Tony got up from the floor and sits by the stairs as Thor took off after the drone that snatched the scepter. He observed the penthouse, there were damage all around, broken and destroyed things shattered everywhere. Something that reminds him of Malibu.

_Why do bad guys always have to destroy my home?_

He hissed as he feels a throbbing pain in his arm, the only part of his body that directly hit the stairs when he landed. He checked his teammates. All of them seems to be physically okay with only a few bruises. But the important thing for him right now is that his son is safe.

Peter ran up to him worried, "Dad, you're hurt."

Steve started to walk towards him. He can see everyone's concerned gazes. He created that thing, more than what he'd liked to admit.

Steve approached him carefully like a wounded puppy but calm and cautious for he might poke the bear. "Tony, you okay? Can you stand? We all still need to talk about this Ultron."

Tony expected the blame and anger coming from their leader but instead here is Steve being Steve. So goddamn understanding. He hid his disbelief. No one is this good. It infuriates him more even though he knows he shouldn't.

"Yeah, yeah... I'm okay, give me a sec." He closed his eyes keeping his head back on track. Once recovered, he stood up with Peter assisting him. He made sure that Peter gets to go to his room to sleep first before going to the lab where the team is.

He can already hear the conversation before he can even enter. Bruce and Natasha is informing the team of their files and surveillance compromised. Ultron used the internet as an escape hatch and probably knows more about them than they know about each other.

When he entered the room everyone looked at him as if he's some sort of criminal that did a really bad thing. He went to the center and brings up the destroyed consciousness of JARVIS.

He stared at how much it was destroyed. JARVIS had been with him ever since he found out he has a son. His assistant to everything, his security, and his friend that has been with him through thick or thin. Grief is starting to sink in like he just lost a loved one.

Bruce observed incredulous. "Ultron could've assimilated Jarvis. This isn't strategy, this is...rage."

Thor arrived and walked directly into Tony's direction, the loud footsteps was heard and everyone saw how furious he is, his emotions are controlling his actions, he was about to go grab Tony but Natasha seeing what was about to happen stepped in-front of Tony about to protect him. Steve stopped Thor in his chest. A fight isn't good for the team, they need to be united now. "Thor, the Legionnnaire."

Thor finally lets go of his anger and backs off. "Trail went cold about a hundred miles out but it's headed north. Now we have to retrieve the scepter, again. This could've been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand."

Tony went to his computer, his back on all of them. They should know the answer to that by now. On why he had to create this thing.

Seeing that threats to this world would continue to come regardless of their own heroics, he started to create Ultron with a wholesome endeavor - peace, protection for all mankind. A peacekeeping program designed to help the Avengers but instead all of it resulted into a murderous AI. The opposite personification of what he had in mind, of what they worked hard for. It acted in defiance and assessed peace in a different light.

"The Avengers were supposed to be different than SHIELD." Steve pointed out. He was talking about the Triskellion mess, on how SHIELD tried to prevent catastrophe but ended up causing more destruction.

But this is different, it is supposed to be different.

"Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole? A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing three hundred feet below it. We are_ the Avengers_. We can bust arms dealers all the live long day, but, that up there? That's... that's the _Endgame_. How were you guys planning on beating that?"

Steve locks his eyes on him and earnestly answers. "Together."

"We'll lose."

"Then we'll do that together, too."

Tony stared at him for a moment before turning away. See, that's the problem, _it's a battle he can't afford to lose_.

* * *

Peter yawned scratching his eye as he walk towards the kitchen for breakfast. The events of what happened last night still fresh in his mind. Ultron became sentient. He lifted his head up and saw someone unexpected.

"Pepper?,"

Her mouth curved into a smile when she saw the handsome young man coming to her. She hugged him close assessing if he's okay.

"Why are you here? You're supposed to be back by next week right?"

"My boys need me here. I heard what happened, sweetheart. Now sit, I prepared your favorites." He smiled as he sits on his chair and she puts some waffles on his plate.

Whenever Pepper is at the Tower, she spoils him with his favorites. She always insist that they get some bonding moments since it's rare that she gets to have free time now. Always traveling on business trips.

She watched Peter as he eats. _Our boy is getting big now_. "Look at your hair, let's get some haircut later alright. And we need to buy you some clothes. Yours are getting smaller. I'll call-"

"No, please don't call Mr. Ford, Pepper. I'm okay with my t-shirts and hoodies."

Mr. Tom Ford always comes personally at the Tower to make tailored clothes for him and Dad. Its not that that he doesn't like designer clothes, he's just more comfortable with the casual outfits Dad bought for him which Pepper doesn't really agree on.

Pepper bit her lip. Hoodies? Those hideous sweatshirt that Tony uses when he wants to go undercover? _Ugh._ She really needs to stop Tony from getting Peter those outfits. She sighed as they might just go again to the shops at Fifth. "But we'll still pick out clothes later, okay. I'm telling you, you need to get rid of those hoodies young man."

Peter's about to protest when the elevator opened and he saw Dad now coming from it.

Tony's smile fades as he spotted Pepper. He's about to go back to the elevator when she called out. "Tony, sit."

It made him completely stop and turn around back to their table. "Honey! I didn't know you're coming back home today."

He kissed her cheek and kissed Peter's head afterwards. He's hoping that she's not going to bring up the topic which is really quite impossible.

Pepper sits at the chair between them and they started to eat silently, but she really can't hold it any longer. "What were you thinking, Tony? And you also brought your son into creating this robot, this Ultron? You boys watch movies every week. Have you not learned anything from those killing robots in that, that _Skynet_?"

Peter can't help but chuckle silently. "The Terminator." he mumbled. He was surprised Pepper can still remember that cause whenever they watch with her, she just ends up sleeping halfway.

"It was supposed to be different, Pep. It's a peacekeeping program. We're not even close to creating it in the first place. The trial unexpectedly became sentient. It just..."

Tony paused and massaged his temples, the damage has been done, there's no point in convincing Pepper. There's no point in explaining. That Maximoff girl played with his mind, she used his fear to create his own undoing, _Ultron_.

Seeing Tony's downcast eyes, she resigned herself and gently squeezed his right hand, "I'm sorry this had to happen. Are you okay? Has Dr. Cho already checked your arm?"

"It's fine now, she cleared me before she head back to Seoul,"

They smiled at each other. "We already have a lead on where Ultron's going next. We're leaving in an hour to retrieve the scepter. I had already finished the manual reboot of the security system of the Tower, you and Peter, you'll be safe here."

Later that day, the Avengers fly off to the South African coast. Peter was left in the Tower with Pepper. They were instructed not to leave the Tower until the Ultron issue is dealt with so he had no choice but to let Pepper take care of him. The barber and the tailor came to the Tower to fix him up. After all that, he went to his part of the lab.

He can't help but feel guilty. Dad doesn't deserve to take all the blame from creating Ultron. Dad wasn't the only one who created it, they helped. They also kept the secret. And what Ultron said last night bothers him. He said he wants the Avengers extinct. What does that mean?

He browsed through thousands of their codes that created Ultron but found no other mistake that could've turned the bot evil. It's just Ultron's assessment of the past that he came up with that objective. He then scanned through JARVIS mainstream of codes. A lot has been damaged. He remember all the times whenever he woke up, gets back from school, JARVIS voice always welcomes him. Keeps an eye on him and guides him through everything since he was a kid. He already misses JARVIS'.

When he got out of the lab, he saw Pepper now watching the news, her hands covering her mouth. It is on live news broadcast that shows chaos now happening in Johannesburg, the Hulk wreaking havoc on civilians.

"Oh my God," Pepper muttered. "What could've turned him this furious."

The footage was cut-off when Hulk suddenly throws something at the cameraman.

Peter immediately went to the lab with Pepper following him, to hack on Dad's suit that can make them see what's happening in real time. In a few minutes he managed to successfully go through, Tony can't hear them but they can see exactly what's happening. Dad's now wearing a thicker suit, the Hulkbuster armor. This is really serious if he decided to call in VERONICA. _Where's the rest of the team?_

Pepper rested her hands on Peter's shoulders taking a deep breath. They're afraid of what might happen, of Tony's safety. The Hulk is very unstable now, he's practically unstoppable.

They can now hear Dad starting to talk some sense to the Hulk. "That little witch is messing with your mind. You're stronger than her, you're smarter than her, you're Bruce Banner."

But Hulk just roars angrily. They start fighting and throwing each other around. They battle it out more but Dad is already struggling to beat Hulk. Every time Dad takes a punch or attack, they wince at the sight. As Hulk destroyed one of Dad's armor arm, VERONICA sends in a new Hulkbuster armor arm and Dad uses it to repeatedly punch Hulk trying to get him to sleep but it's no use. Dad started to pick up Hulk to get him out of the city but Hulk managed to sway him to a nearby building and they crashes hard battling more.

When Dad finally trapped Hulk's hand into his arm, he decided to drop Hulk through an unfinished building completely destroying it; As Tony plunges down, Peter hoped Dad will pull it through, that he's safe under that armor. Tony managed to pull it off as Hulk comes out of Wanda's mind-hold, but knocks him out cold to make sure. A few moments later the quinjet arrived. That's the last of what they saw on the suit's projection.

Peter spent the next hour waiting for his Dad to call. Pepper started to arrange all the help the Stark Relief Foundation can give to the fatalities of Johannesburg. Hill was the first to speak to Tony informing them of the current situation.

"Dad are you okay? Are all of you alright?" Peter asked worried over the monitor. Dad looks tired and the rest of the team looks pretty shaken from the background.

"I am Pete, I am okay. You heard Hill, I'm sorry I can't come home yet. Where's Pepper?"

"She's downstairs managing the relief foundation. Do you want me to go get her?"

"No, no. Just tell her everything later, okay? We'll figure this out. I love you, bud. I'll be back as soon as this is over."

Dad masked a smile at him and Peter forced himself a smile. The call ended and Peter went directly to the lab. There's got to be something he can help them with. He started to run through JARVIS matrix file and finally saw something he can start with.

* * *

"Thor didn't say where he was going for answers?" Tony asked as he chops another pile of wood.

They're now at Clint's homestead, a safe-house at the middle of nowhere to lay low and recharge. He and Steve started to chop piles of woods to help the Barton family and as a means of letting steam off their heads but instead he feels quite the opposite. They're all a mess. Ultron pulled them apart like cotton-candy.

"Sometimes my teammates don't tell me things. I was kind of hoping Thor would be the exception."

Steve leers his gaze on to Clint teaching his son at the balcony. He realized there are a lot of secrecy going on with his teammates that they don't trust the team to know. Something that they like to keep for themselves like the things the man in front of him has.

"Yeah, give him time. We don't know what the Maximoff kid showed him."

"Well I guess you'd know. Whether you tell us is a bit of a question."

Tony stopped what he was doing and glared at Steve. "Banner and I were doing research."

"That would affect the team."

"That would end the team! Isn't that the mission? Isn't that the "why" we fight, so we can end the fight, so we get to go home?"

It's what he wanted all along. Not just to protect the Earth, his family, but maybe the obsolescence of the Avengers as well, so they can live their normal lives once again. Not just him focusing more on his son, but he wishes his teammates the same, that they can live their lives in peace.

"Every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die. Every time."

Tony backs off and gazes down as he clenches his fist. More than what he liked to admit, what Steve said is true. And no matter what his reasons were, his reasons of creating Ultron really is flawed. He created it not with pure and good intentions, but with fear enveloping his heart.

Laura came after to them interrupting their heated conversation, asking if Tony can start the tractor. He walks up to the barn and checks.

"Hello, Deere. Tell me everything. What ails you?"

Suddenly, a familiar voice answered, a voice whom he thought was already dead.

"Do me a favor. Try not to bring it to life." Fury showed himself walking over to him.

"I get it, Maria Hill called you, right? Was she ever not working for you?"

He noticed all of the former SHIELD agents he knows are very loyal to Fury. Willing to double cross him just to spy.

"Look me in the eye and tell me you're going to shut him down."

"You're not the director of me."

"I'm not the director of anybody. I'm just an old man, who cares very much about you."

Tony stepped closer, his eyes full of accusations.

"Really? Really though? You didn't tell me Mary's research even though I know you already knew about it. She involved her own DNA and you didn't tell me. My son was put in danger because of it, you heard about that? And he might still be. Now tell me, where is that research, was it killed when she died, when SHIELD collapsed?"

"You need to discover it on your own, and you found it. I can't provide anything more because I didn't know more, I was clueless before as you were. Now, I don't know, if that animal is dead or what, cause I don't know where she hid it. But I believe, Mary had a reason for doing what she did, Stark. It's maybe her way of protecting her son. Just as you with your reasons."

Tony shuddered a sigh as he stepped back. He didn't even know if he can say it so it took all the courage to finally admit.

"I saw my son, in my arms Nick. He was dead, _he died in my arms_. Pepper, Happy, the Avengers, they're all dead. _I felt it_. The whole world, too. It's because of me. I wasn't ready. I didn't do all I could."

"The Maximoff girl, she's working you, Stark. Playing on your fear."

"I wasn't tricked, I was shown. It wasn't a nightmare, it's the end of the path I started us on."

And it's what's exactly happening right now. Thanks to his egotistical tech tampering, his creation might end all of them.

"You've come up with some pretty impressive inventions, Stark. War isn't one of them. That path you saw can be changed. You trust your team. Outwit the platinum bastard."

Later that night, the team finally deduces what Ultron's plan is, to evolve. They came up with a plan to stop the the murder bot once and for all.

* * *

The soft sound of Dad voice slowly awakened Peter's senses. He pulled up his blanket to cover more of his body so he can trap the heat and tries to reach for his pillow so he can drown out all the noise.

"Dad, five more minutes." he said in a groggy voice. He noticed he's not in his bed because one more turn and he's going to crash hard on the floor. Oh that's right, he's in the lab. _Wait, what?_

He shot his eyes open and got up. The sight of his Dad sitting beside him greeted him. He's at the sofa of the lab. He remembered spending an all-nighter, but didn't know he fell asleep.

"You know, I miss the days when I can carry you in my arms to your bed when you fall asleep on the couch. Now I might have to use the suit to carry you," Tony ruffled his hair while Peter suppresses a yawn. "You should be on your bed, young man."

Peter peers down and started fidgeting. "JARVIS. Dad I found out he's-"

"Still alive. I know, I found out at NEXUS," Of course, Dad would know. He lifted his head up to find Dad smiling at him proudly. "You found out JARVIS is still here somewhere and managed to piece him together. Now, that's amazing. You did a good job, my son."

Dad patted his head and kissed his forehead, Peter smiled back. He did managed to help at least. He investigated until he found out that JARVIS' memory was just scattered all around, his protocols are still intact that's why the military's codes kept being changed, somehow JARVIS is still helping them, so he tried his best to piece together all he can find.

Peter tapped his starkphone and JARVIS's consciousness glowed in 3D form, good as new.

"Welcome back, JARVIS. It's good to have you back." Tony greeted.

"It is indeed, Sir. Thank you to your brilliant son, young master Peter."

Later that day, Clint arrives with _the Cradle_. Tony persuaded Bruce once again to help them upload the last remnants of JARVIS' protocols into the android inside the Cradle so that they could create an ally against Ultron. Peter assisted Bruce since the doctor scientist already taught him BioOrganics from the past years. They were close to finishing the upload when Steve came with the Maximoff twins to oppose.

Dad and Steve started to fight each other but in the end, Thor managed to save the android by using his lightning, thus creating the synthetic being with a mind of its own.

Peter stared amazed at the man with the yellow stone in its forehead. It flies and even has the ability to produce clothing of its own. It has JARVIS' voice but it's not exactly the JARVIS he had known.

"Turn down the lightning a little, point break. Alright? Got a kid here." Tony put his hands on Peter's shoulders securing him.

"Yeah, Stark. Sorry about that." Thor then explained the Infinity Stones to all of them and the Mind Stone is the one on Vision's forehead. Vision then declared he was not Ultron or JARVIS, rather he was something altogether new and, unlike Ultron, had a deep abiding respect for life. He calls himself _Vision_. Finishing all their doubts is when he casually lifted Mjølnir and offered it back to Thor, much to their bewilderment.

"Dad, can I come? I'll just be at the Helicarrier with Agent Hill." Peter asked as he watched Dad get his collection of User Interface chips to find his replacement for JARVIS.

Tony stopped what he was doing, stared at his son and caressed his face.

"Nope. Pete, I need to know you're safe so I can focus. So I can end this. Knowing you're within Sokovia, it's just dangerous. I can't let you near it. You've done enough to help us. You've done amazing work, bud, more than we deserve. How many times have I already said, I'm so proud of you?"

"Only about a billion times." Peter grinned that made Tony smile.

"That's right. Now what do you think should be our next UI?"

"You know I like TADASHI, cause of Big Hero 6."

"Yeah, he's very noble. but I think we should go with,"

Tony started to plug-in FRIDAY. "Good evening, boss." The female Irish accented voice greeted.

"Your favorite day of the week," Tony ruffled his hair. "I'll reserve TADASHI when you wanted a suit for yourself."

Peter's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Kidding." Tony comically laughed and rested his arm on Peter's shoulders as he check the suit's specs and condition.

Peter's smile immediately faded. "Dad!"

...

Before, the team leave. Peter embraced Tony tightly, "Be careful Dad, I heard Vision said Ultron hates you the most."

"Yeah, he's like an angsty teenager in rebellion. I wonder if you're going to be the same in a few years."

Peter grimaced at the thought. "That would be impossible."

Tony grinned and kissed Peter's forehead. Knowing Peter, he will always be their pure hearted cinnamon bun. "I know, bud. I know."

Peter watched as the jet took off. He waved goodbye as he and Pepper head back inside.

That night, the Ultron Offensive happened. Utron managed to successfully make a large portion of the Earth fly using Vibranium that could cause an extinction-level event. The Avengers formed together to kill every drone there is as Vision fried Ultron's escape hatch.

Director Fury helped the remaining people trapped in the flying city to evacuate using the Helicarrier.

When the city began to plummet down the Earth, Dad used his unibeam and Thor strikes a lightning to overcharge the drill, making it crumble into many pieces before it falls massively back to Earth. The debris falls safely into a lake thus not causing any major fatalities.

At the end of it all, they won as Vision destroyed the last remaining drone of Ultron. But they also suffered a great loss, Pietro died and Hulk fled into nowhere believing that the team was constantly in danger because of him, leaving all of them behind.

* * *

"Aunt Nat? I knew I can find you here." Peter called softly to Natasha gazes beyond the trees, her mind lost in thought. It's been three months and there's still no news or any sightings of Bruce. She can't help but mourn thinking he might be dead already.

Peter stepped closer and nudged her arm gently that made her come back into reality.

"Lunch's waiting downstairs. I think the whole team's already digging in. They're looking for you."

Natasha masked a smile and intertwined her arm with Peter's arm as they walk towards the dining area.

"I'm going to miss you little Stark, maybe you'll be taller than me the next time I see you."

"Yeah, I am," Peter laughed. "I hope. And we'll try to visit as much as possible, or you can visit us at the Tower."

"Of course. You know we'll be busy with training the new members right? and the missions."

"I'm gonna miss you too Aunt Nat, all of you."

Natasha smiled as they stopped and she hugged Peter.

When they reached the massive dining hall, they saw the team exchanging stories and merrily eating. The new members are there, Vision, Wanda, Sam, Rhodey. Even Clint's family, Director Fury, Agent Hill, Dr. Cho, and Dr. Selvig. It is a farewell party for Clint and Tony's retirement from the Avengers initiative. They will be missed but even though they're retired from the team, they will always be an Avenger.

After their defeat of Ultron, Tony finally decided to tap out. He realized he has done enough avenging. Instead of creating a solution, he created havoc. And he's struggling to move on from it. If he can learn and forgive himself for creating Ultron. Maybe he can live a more peaceful life with his family. Leave the issue of the world into Steve's care. Even though he knows it will never be enough, because trouble will always come and he will always be ready in case.

The three mightiest heroes now walk through the Halls of the compound, the thousand acre new Avengers facility.

"You saw how happy Peter is with Clint's kids? Maybe it's time you give him a sibling, Tony." Steve pointed out that made Tony laugh. Peter's already getting older to have a sibling.

"Oh, I don't know Cap. We'll see."

"Send me a postcard to Asgard if there's more of your spawn coming. I'm gonna miss these little talks of ours." Thor stopped and smiled at both of them tapping their shoulders.

"Well, not if you don't leave. And how do I send a postcard to Asgard?"

Thor just grinned and they started to walk outside.

"I have no choice. The Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the last few years. That's not a coincidence. Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us."

"You think you can find out what's coming?"

"I do. Besides this one," Thor pats Tony's chest as he walks in front of them, ready to bid goodbye. "There's nothing that can't be explained."

He nods on both of them lifting his hammer up returning to Asgard through his Bifrost, leaving a burnt ancient circle on the grass.

"That man has no regard for lawn maintenance." Tony exclaimed as they turn back to the garden where the team now is. "I'm gonna miss him though. And you're gonna miss me. There's gonna be a lot of manful tears."

Steve gazed at Tony appreciatively. "I will miss you, Tony."

"Yeah? Well, it's time for me to tap out. Maybe I should take a page out of Barton's book and build Peter and Pepper a safe-house, hope nobody blows it up."

They stopped and stare at the kids now playing at the field. "The simple life."

"You'll get there one day."

"I don't know, family, stability. The guy who wanted all that went in the ice seventy-five years ago. I think someone else came out."

"Oh you never know." Tony eyed him Natasha who's now carrying Nathaniel.

Seeing what Tony was trying to say, Steve scrunched up his face. "What? Natasha? No."

He doesn't think there's anyone who can even compare for his love for _Peggy_.

"Natasha's your work wife, Rogers. Maybe try, she can even be your real wife,"

Tony chuckled at his sentiment and walks to his son now waiting at him. "Just think about it."

They shake hands before he hops into his car. Steve nodded at him before he took off.

"Why is Steve's face like that, Dad?"

"We may have a new love team in the years to come." Tony mysteriously joked that made Peter lift a brow.

"Where are we going now?"

He smiled at his son before answering.

"_Home_."


	22. Chapter 22

"Dad, where are we?"

Peter wondered as he step out of their orange Audi R8. In front of them lies an old American cabin with a front porch in a middle of a farm. Next to it a huge lake surrounded by trees. The fresh wind blows through, softly swaying the leaves of the trees.

He looked back at his Dad whose leaning on the side of their car, just watching his reaction. He walked towards the wooden walkway overseeing the entire lake. Seeing the whole ambiance of the place just makes him calm and at peace.

"Like it? What do you think?"

He glanced at his Dad now beside him just staring at the view in front of them. Deeply inhaling the fresh breeze.

"I think it's perfect. What is this place?"

"Summer house, Winter house. Basically, just a safe house for us to rewind and relax. Off the grid."

The serene scenery astonished him. Peace and tranquility in the middle of nowhere. A completely different environment from the hustle and bustle of New York.

Tony tapped his son's shoulder and guided him back to the cabin. "Come see what's inside. Then let's go fishing later."

* * *

"When did you learn how to do this?"

Peter watches Dad put a worm that they're going to use as bait into the hook. It's his turn next and he carefully does as what Dad did.

"When I was in boarding school. On a yacht with some friends. We used to always sneak out, do all these boring and crazy stuff. Good ol' days."

When the bait is ready, Tony swings it first out perfectly into the water then assisted Peter with his.

"That's it?" Peter asked unsatisfied as he saw his Dad now sitting at their folding chairs and pulling out a can of beer. He then sits at his own chair and drinks his grape juice.

"Yeah, we wait."

Peter silently waits, but as each second pass he feels like it's already been taking years. He's not very good at waiting. Especially, with all the gadgets and tech that's been with him all throughout his life, he's used to knowing and doing anything in an instant with a click.

He sighs impatiently. "I think it's gonna take us forever to catch something, Dad."

Tony chuckles at his son's whimpering. They've only been waiting for five minutes and Peter just looks like it's about to be the end of the world, not knowing on what to do next.

"Dad, do you think Dr. Banner's already dead?" Peter asks out of nowhere. Everyone's been saying that he's already dead since they still can't locate the quinjet. There's not even a single sighting and it's already been a year.

"If you think about it, there's a large possibility he's still alive,"

There's a few moments of silence before he continues.

"I think he's not in this world, Pete. I installed a tracking device on that quinjet and if it's still on Earth, we would've tracked it by then. If it exploded I would know. The Hulk is practically unkillable, Bruce said it himself,"

He looked heavenward. "He's out there somewhere. There's lots of things we don't know in this universe. Let's just hope he can cross paths with sparkle fingers,"

Tony misses the entire team but truth be told he felt like he's just back to the where he was before the Avengers even exist. He tinkers with his toys, invent a few stuff, upgrades his suit on most days, company meetings here and there, and more time with his son. So far, he's enjoying it.

"Your graduation's coming soon, do you want to stay in Midtown or change schools?"

"I'll stay in Midtown, Dad." He and Ned already had an agreement that they will stay in Midtown until high school and he doesn't think he can leave Dad alone in New York.

"What about college? Where do you want to go?,"

Peter's eyes squinted. It's too early to talk about college. But who's to say, Dad entered college at 14 and graduated being _Summa Cum Laude_ at 17. That's a lot of stuff to live up to, and he knew Dad always wanted him to go to MIT, follow in his footsteps.

"The President of MIT called me, he was my professor back then. Well, he's asking if you want to join their accelerated program."

His eyes widened in shock. "That's sick."

"They've been looking at you since we patented your invention, and you're also running for Valedictorian right? They've seen your academic performance, they're really impressed."

Dad's smiling proudly at him and he doesn't know what to think. He's just twelve and the MIT wants him. The MIT. The University every tech junkie wants to study in. A great opportunity and anyone who is sane enough will go right ahead. But he doesn't know, he feels like being in-between. He also doesn't know if he can ace being the Valedictorian of their batch, he's not the only one up and running. He's quite sure, Liz will beat him up to the top, if not, Ned or Flash will.

Tony saw how Peter struggle to find the words on what to reply so he immediately assured him. "Hey, bud, no pressure. I'm just telling you. You still have two years to think it through, just let me know, alright?"

No pressure but he feels only pressure building up. He lets out a nervous sigh and plastered a smile on his face.

"Thanks, Dad.,"

He suddenly blurted out asking. "Does grandpa and grandma also wanted you to go to MIT before?"

Tony chuckles as he remembered.

"Oh, they wanted me to go to Harvard. Because Harvard was the number one back then. Since your Dad's such a rebellious teenager, I went to MIT instead, much to your grandpa's dismay, but it fits since MIT focuses on tech. They became the number one ever since then,"

The corners of his eyes crinkled.

"Back then it seems that everything I do isn't enough for your Grandpa. I knew him as cold and calculating, seeing most of my mistakes rather than my achievements. I used to dread coming back home to New York when we have semester breaks, the only consolation is when Mom's around."

Peter's brows knitted confused.

"New York? I thought your old residence is in Miami?"

_All this time and I hasn't mentioned_. "We had a mansion in New York, bud. It's where I grew up in and its now where Stark Tower rises. When they died, there's no reason to stay in that huge mansion anymore. So I packed up all my stuff and went to Miami with Mom's things."

Many years have passed but every time he talks about his parents passing, Tony can't help but feel _remorse_. Maybe because it's so sudden, that he didn't even get to say goodbye to his mom. And maybe it's also because he still regret not being able to forgive Howard for their strained relationship, that until the end they can't make amends to each other. And he can't forgive himself for not forgiving his father until it's too late.

Peter listened intently when Dad was relieving bits of his past but then he seemed to get lost in thought and went silent. Perhaps, he shouldn't have asked about his grandparents. They rarely get to talk about them anyway. He sort of wanted to know more but maybe that's enough for today, he knew how sensitive Dad can be when it comes to that topic.

"Dad?" Peter asked as he holds Dad's hand softly nudging it. "Are you okay? Sorry I asked."

"Yeah, of course, I'm okay, bud." Tony smiled but Peter can still see the grief in his eyes that he's trying to hide.

Peter noticed his bobber started to shake and he stands up as he pulls up the line.

"Oh oh oh, I got one!" He shouts merrily when he saw the fish coming close as he pulls the line up in the air. He's almost to jumping up and down in delightful glee. So this is how it feels when a good thing comes from waiting patiently.

"Good one, buddy! Your first catch!," Tony assisted as they carefully remove the hook from the fish. "We have dinner!"

Peter suddenly stopped. "Dad, seriously? This is all we gonna eat?" Are they all going to hunt live animals in this forest, fish forever in this lake? Like cavemans? His mind raced with a bucketful of questions. If that's so then he really wants to go back now in New York.

Tony roared in laughter seeing Peter's shocked and worried face. "You're seriously not going to think we're going to hunt everything we're gonna eat, right? C'mon bud, Pepper won't let us starve in here. The fridge is stocked with food."

Peter let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank God."

Tony continued laughing as he can't wash off the look of Peter's face from his mind. They waited until Tony can catch some fish then went back to the cabin ready to cook their fresh catch.

"Dad, it's not gonna clean itself. Unless you put it back in the lake." Peter chuckled at his own joke and looked at Dad that seems to be just staring at the fish in the sink.

In fact, Tony hasn't cleaned a fish or any animal before. His friends back then was the one who cleaned the fish and cooked it. When Peter came into his life, that's when he started caring on things he doesn't have an interest in, such as cooking.

"Know what, let's ask Friday."

Even though the cabin is full of wooden work, it still has a sophisticated design. The whole cabin was installed with modern tech that Tony needs. Friday showed a video of how to clean the fish and he started doing it on his own and cooked it along with some food from the fridge.

"Are we going to spend New Year here?" Peter sets up the table while Dad cooks.

The Christmas tree shines next to their fireplace. The relaxing crackle of wood from the fireplace can be heard from the background along with soft humming of Christmas songs.

"Do you want to? I know it's tradition we watch the ball drops, but we can spend it here if you want."

"Will the team visit the Tower?"

The original Avengers were together last holidays. Last Holidays of them all together. The last time they've all seen each other was Ultron and Peter hasn't heard of them since, but Tony still receives reports of the missions the new Avengers partake in since he's still the one who finances the organization.

"They're actually in the Middle East looking on a new mission, so that's a no."

"Oh okay."

Peter stared at the picture frames displayed on a side table. Portraits of him and Dad, with Pepper, Dad and Happy, and the whole Avengers gang from the party. He smiled at the thought that everywhere he looks, the whole cabin feels really homey. He came across a picture of him and his mom, along with his step dad, Richard, aunt May and uncle Ben. Flashes of emotional memories just comes back when he sees pictures of them. Or is it just his imagination. It's been a long time ago. He tried to recall memories that involved them in his life but he can't remember any of it now. He was really young when they all died.

Tony placed all the food at the table and the delicious smell coming from it spreads across the house. "Alright. Dinner's ready. Come here, go wash your hands first."

He went to where Peter is and saw his son deep in thought staring at a picture frame. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Peter put the picture frame back into place.

Seeing what picture was looking into, Tony can't help but ask. "Can you still remember her, bud?"

Peter stared into Tony's eyes then looked down. He can't help but feel guilty.

"Um. Honestly, I can't. When I look back I can only remember you and Pepper. I can't even remember how it felt when they died. It's all a blur now."

Tony sighed, earliest childhood memories can be lost as children go older. It's normal that those memories weren't efficiently stored. Hell, he can only remember playing with circuit boards when he was four and constantly asking for Howard's attention.

"Hey, look at me.," lifting Peter's chin up.

"It doesn't mean that if you can't remember them, you already forgot about them. Your heart remembers that you love them, right?,"

Peter's eyes shone with unshed tears and he nodded.

"Then they live in you, in there," pointing at his chest. "That's all that matters.," Tony smiled and gently kissed Peter's forehead. "Now come on let's eat before that dinner gets cold."

He might have lost his mom and his guardians at a young age but Dad practically raised him to be who he is now. Dad had cared for him ever since then and given him all the love that he needs and there's nothing more than he's ever grateful for than that.

* * *

Their last day of middle school has finally come to an end. He takes a deep breath and begins his speech.

"Well, we've definitely done it. Middle school was no doubt a tough journey."

Peter stared at all his batchmates, all eyes on him listening, the parents and teachers watching him talking from the stage as he continued giving his speech.

"We faced changes and challenges that required us to step up and own our decisions, even if the end outcome can result in failure. We learned that even if we fail, we learn. We learned not to follow in footsteps, but to create our own. But one thing is for certain, we would not be where we are today without the help and support along the way. The vast amount of knowledge that we hold today is credit that we owe to all of our teachers..,"

He gazed at his teachers in rows near the stage and smiled at them.

"Thank you to all of our parents who have always been there, always behind us, always having our backs, no matter the trouble we go through.,"

Some of the troublemaker students chuckled. He then turned his head on the parents sitting opposite the rows of the students and he smiled as he saw his Dad beaming at him proudly.

"Thank you Dad for supporting me, for instilling in me to stay curious, for being my number one hero, not just for being our own Iron Man, but being my Dad. I am not who I am now without you."

Tony's eyes sparkled with joy and his heart overflows with such pride and love for his son. No words can explain of how proud he is right now of Peter.

"The next chapter of our lives lies ahead of us. With the next four years to define who we are once more. So as this chapter ends, we are more than ready to begin the next."

A standing ovation from all of the students and parents all clapping proudly came.

"The batch _Valedictorian_ of Midtown Middle School Class of 2013. _Peter Stark_."

Principal Morita handed in the medal to Tony that came on stage as part of a tradition that parents gets to award the medal on their child.

Tony grinned as he hang the medal around Peter's neck and embraced his son. "I'm so proud you're my kid."

"Thanks Dad." Peter smiled big and wide. This is ultimately one of the best moments of his life.

* * *

Walking off the elevator, the pop of confetti startled Peter that he almost jumped afraid. A boisterous happy greeting from all of their friends welcomed them back to the Tower. "CONGRATULATIONS Peter!"

Peter's mouth hanged open in surprise and he grinned as he saw all of them. Pepper and Happy are there, the new Avengers, Sam, Uncle Rhodes, Natasha, Vision, Wanda and Steve are completely present to celebrate his achievement.

"Sweetheart, oh." Pepper hugged Peter tightly "Your efforts paid off. I'm so happy for you."

"Seems like yesterday when you were little and obsessed with Lego's. Well done, Peter. You make us proud." Happy almost tear up as he hugs Peter.

"Oh, he's still playing with those, Hap." Tony said that made all of them laugh.

Uncle Rhodes then tapped his shoulders. "You make it look easy so easy, champ."

"You really deserved it, Peter. You're the smartest kid I know. Congratulations." Steve smiled genuinely and patted Peter's back.

"I knew you were made for great things, little Stark." Natasha hugged him close.

"Man, Genius really runs in this family." Sam exclaimed and laughter was heard all over again.

Peter felt overwhelmed from all the greetings that he doesn't know what to say already. "Oh my god. Uh, thank you so much. It means so much to me that you're all here."

He couldn't be happier than how he is now. Pepper then invited all of them into the dinner table to eat and continue their celebration.

* * *

"So how was it?" Peter asked as they sit on their first class on their first day of freshmen year.

"It was awesome! Oh my god, it was the best summer of my life Peter." Ned gushed as he pulls up his chair and sits close to Peter. Some students stared at them clueless of why Ned looks like he just swallowed a happy pill full of energy.

Peter chuckles as he sees Ned's reaction. He knew it was the perfect gift for his best friend. Ned received a graduation gift from Dad, a one month summer internship at Stark Industries Science Division.

"I learned so much stuff. There's so much tech in there, from commercial use, medicine to space tech advancements. And you didn't tell me! Your medical glue was already being manufactured and now being used by hospitals!"

"Hey keep it down! You signed an NDA. Besides it's not a big deal." Peter whispered and reminded Ned. It is mandatory for each of their people even the interns that an NDA be signed, because Pepper and Dad wanted to make sure their tech is protected, not let any of the bad guys use or even know about it.

Ned now started to silently talk. "Not a big deal? Do you know what that means?"

Peter scrunched up his face. "What?"

"You invented something at seven and is already making money from it. You could practically walk your way up to MIT right now and they'll give you a diploma pronto. Some of their graduates can't even make up an original idea for their thesis. Not a big deal my ass. Look at you."

Peter massaged his temples. "That's not how it works Ned."

His works doesn't even compare from what Dad did around this age. Dad had already built his own circuit board and motor engine by age 12, all he did was mix chemicals at the lab and hack JARVIS from time to time.

A female voice suddenly interrupted their conversation. "Inventing something at a young age doesn't qualify as to obtaining a degree. That's why we have Universities to complete our academic understanding. It's a process.,"

Peter's eyes squinted and Ned's brows drew together. They didn't even noticed someone's even listening to their babble. Almost all of their classmates are also engaged in groups of conversations.

Their heads darted to where the voice came from and saw a curly haired girl sitting next to them engrossed in reading a book.

"Your whispering's still a little too loud, you know."

"Who're you?" Ned asked curious. Peter noticed that this girl's among the new students.

Her eyes bored into them. "Michelle Jones. My friends call me MJ."

"Oh okay, I'm Ned Leeds." Ned carefreely introduced himself smiling from ear to ear.

"I'm Peter-"

"Stark. I know." Then she started reading her book again.

Peter's brows knitted in confusion. This girl is weird, and has the most disinterested facial expression he had ever seen.

He's about to ask MJ on where she came from but abruptly caught a glimpse of Liz coming their way and Peter's whole world suddenly shifted into slow mo.

Her hair bounced as she walks... Has she grown taller? and leaner? _She's so beautiful_...

His daydreaming slowed into a halt when Ned lightly slapped his cheeks. "Hey what was that?"

"You're stupidly smiling like a dog!" Ned whispered as Liz stops in front of them.

"Hi, Peter. Hey, Ned. I hope to see you two on Decathlon Club orientation later, okay? Don't be late."

Her voice even seemed melodious and her smile... _Oh my god, what's happening to me._

"Hey Liz, yeah. Of course. We'll be there." Peter quickly replied, his face flushing.

"Okay, see you."

He watched as Liz walked away to her seat at the back next to her friends. Peter and Ned stared at her like she's some sort of angel that came from above.

"Wow, you guys are losers." MJ smirked and they completely stopped what they're doing when their first teacher in Advanced Chemistry finally came to their classroom.


	23. Chapter 23

**_My dear readers,_**

**_Thank you so much for still reading this. :) Sorry I haven't updated in so long. Been really busy for the past few months, I haven't got time to come up with ideas and write, but thank God for Christmas breaks. Hope you'll get to enjoy this chapter!_**

_PS. Noticed line breaks are not working on the app. :( It'll be confusing to read without it. So, I would recommend reading this story using your browser. _

* * *

"So how's your summer?" Ned asked as he finishes putting his stuff in his locker and closes it.

Peter's mouth curved into a smile remembering the happenings of the last two months and recalled to Ned what happened while they walk towards the Decathlon club room.

Peter spent his summer at the lakehouse with his Dad and visited the compound more often so he got to spend more time with Avengers. They also visited the families that the foundation were helping in Sokovia and Johannesburg. Dad wanted to make sure that the victim's lives have improved from the past months.

Many are grateful for the help but some still blames Tony Stark for what happened. Something Tony has no control over, but ended up still causing destruction.

Peter knew how his Dad still feels from the happenings of the Ultron offensive and he can see it in his father's eyes even though he tries so hard to hide it, somehow Dad still blames himself from creating Ultron and the fatalities it caused to innocent lives.

"Mr. Stark's really so generous, Peter." Ned said smiling. Mr. Stark has always treated him like family whenever he's at the Stark household.

His face beamed with heartwarming light at the thought of his dad. "He is."

Dad, Tony Stark truly has the biggest heart of them all. He has given so much already and is still willing to give without expecting any in return. Peter can't help but be proud to have him as his father. His role model.

Reaching the club room, their batch-mates are already waiting engrossed in their own stuff just waiting for their coach.

"Parker?," Flash called out standing up from his seat turning to Liz in disbelief. "How is he here?"

"I should be the one asking you that, Flash." Liz replied in annoyance and continued chatting to Cindy.

"Really Flash? You have to ask? Come on." Abe, one of his classmates of History class, defended walking past them to his seat.

Flash returned to his seat with a scowl on his face. After a few minutes, Mr. Harrington finally showed up introducing himself as their Decathlon coach and oriented them on when will the practice will start for the Nationals.

* * *

"Academic Decathlon, Robotics and Chemistry Club, the Orchestra... plus your homeworks, and studying for SAT's. You sure you can juggle all of these?"

Tony flips through the papers he needed to sign for the after school practice of Peter's clubs. Wondering on why Peter wants to join all of these on top of school work, when his academic performance already shows competitiveness and passion for learning. He's concerned that Peter might get burn out from all of the extra activities.

"The more entries, the more chances of winning. I'm not the only one having that many, Dad. And piano practice at the orchestra goes only twice per week."

He's been playing since he was five years old so he has already mastered learning by ear. Midtown high is a very competitive battleground for students. Almost everyone of them in their class is a self-identified nerd that has some quirky side hobby. Even as freshmen, everyone becomes a missile striving to strike their target and that means an Ivy League education in the future.

"What happens if I don't sign these? You know MIT will still accept you even though you're short in extracurriculars. Just state that you've worked with me, with Banner, you're off the hook."

"Come on, Dad. Like being your intern since I was four?,"

"Exactly."

Peter chuckles at the thought. "That's nuts."

Growing up he has the front row seat of Tony Stark building and creating brand new tech from scratch. He knows the perks to being the son of a genius multi-billionaire but he doesn't want anything to be handed to him just because he's a Stark. Academic wise if he's going to achieve something, he's going to do it his way.

Pepper put the last of the meals at the dinner table and they started to eat. They make sure the get to eat together during dinner. "I'm sure he can handle those, Tony. Having extracurriculars shows you're capable and dedicated, it demonstrates initiative."

"Well, that's a first.," Tony blurted out that made Pepper glare at him. Pepper was usually the one who objects first when it comes to his son's safety and well being but now the table's have turned.

Pepper caressed Peter's cheek. "Just make sure you don't overwork yourself, sweetheart."

As they eat, Peter caught a glimpse of the local news from the TV on mute. The headline saying a new robbery in Queens. It made him wonder who helps these innocent victims in his childhood neighbourhood if the superheroes he know are halfway around the world, eliminating a more dangerous threat to people.

"That's twice this week.,"

Pepper and Tony turn their heads to what Peter's talking about. "Can't the Avengers help Dad?"

Tony and Pepper looked at each other and Tony stared at Peter.

"You see bud, there's people who handle those sort of things. We have the Police and FBI. We don't want these people to lose their jobs, don't we? Don't worry, I'll make sure Damage Control also gets on top of it."

"I'll make sure the relief foundation helps as well."

* * *

Rhodes walks towards Tony's lab at the compound. His bestfriend rarely visits the new team but when he does, he brings major improvements on their suits and their tech, still providing all that the team needs. Something that they're grateful for.

Tony's version of tapping out really just pertains to focusing more on being his innovations rather than their missions.

He saw Tony's back sitting at the table and he walks across the room without knocking. "Tony, have you been waiting long? Sorry, Sam got me preoccupied with this Antman."

Peter brows furrowed in confusion. Dad's not here yet. He started to stand up to face his Uncle.

Rhodes stopped in his tracks and gave Peter a once-over, realizing "Oh my god, Peter is that you?,"

He walks close inspecting Peter's features, the kid he's treated like his godson over the years is now a teenager. "A year and you've grown up this much, I thought you were Tony, only with the glasses. Look at you, you're taller than me already."

"I missed you too, Uncle." Peter laughs seeing Uncle Rhodes surprised reaction and gives him a hug. Aunt Nat and Cap also has the same reaction earlier.

"Oh good, you're here already," Tony said as he enters the lab walking towards them.

"Let me guess, you thought I was this handsome young kid."

"I can't believe it, this is exactly what you look like when we first met."

Rhodes and Tony give each other a half bro hug.

"Who's Antman?" Peter asked curious as to who would name himself after an ant.

"Just some guy who infiltrated the compound."

Rhodey smirked teasing. "and kicked your ass."

"So he's also a superhero? Cool!" Peter's eyes lit up curious to know more.

"No, not cool. Don't tell Cap about this."

"Tell me what?"

Cap's voice suddenly made Sam jumped lightly that made everyone laugh. Their afternoon went along as Tony demonstrated all the improvements he built on the War Machine armor and a few tech the team can use.

* * *

"Hey, Dad... Whoa."

Peter walked over at the lab as is his usual routine after school. But instead of the usual look of the lab, he instead saw his late Grandma's grand piano. Wondering on why it is here when it was destroyed years before when Dad crashed landed on it way back when they're still in Malibu.

"We should get going, Maria. Wake him up."

His head snapped to where the voice came from and goosebumps suddenly formed in his skin as he's still trying to process what he's seeing.

His grandfather walking toward his direction and his grandmother walking over towards the Piano.

"What-what, what's happening?" Peter mumbled startled and almost shocked. Debating on his head if he's gonna believe any of what he's seeing.

A low groan of someone waking up suddenly made him look at the sofa and was startled to see a younger version of his Dad who remarkably looks a lot like him got up.

In a moment he cannot speak and thought he suddenly time traveled to another universe.

"I'm here, Pete."

He turned into that voice that he knew all too well and saw his Dad.

In a second, the whole old ambiance is gone. He can see the lab again and just with a few things that resembled an all white living room.

"That's grandpa and grandma and you! Just younger!"

"It's just a memory or more of my imagination. I'm still working on it though. One of our scientists had this brilliant idea, but he can't get it started so I tweaked it up a little. Upgraded it."

"I thought I was seeing a ghost or transported into another dimension. It looks amazingly real Dad! So real that it looks kinda creepy."

"Sorry, I startled you bud. So, how are you? How's school?"

"Same, same." Peter took something out of his bagpack and waved a piece of paper in front of Tony.

Tony snatched the paper and read it.

"We have another field trip on Friday, something on this new museum. Some exhibits from World War II and Cap's new exhibit will be there, I think."

"Museum of Science Discovery. Isn't this that new museum on the other end of the island? And your teachers call this a field trip?,"

They won't even let the kids cross the island? Seeing as there's no harm in seeing science artifacts, he proceeded to sign the consent form.

"Europe or Asia, now that's a field trip."

As Tony's giving back the signed waiver, he looked at Peter who's obviously hesitating to tell him something.

"and what?"

"I uhh.. can I uhh, just ride the subway back home please? I'll be fine Dad, I promise."

Tony stared at Peter's hopeful eyes. Kid really misses taking the subway. Peter asked him before the start of school year if he can just take the subway everyday after school but it's not something to take lightly since they're not just ordinary people, so he still insisted that he will pick him up or Happy does.

"Yeah okay, I guess you can."

Peter's eyes lit up and cheerfully finished the last of his homework in the lab.

Before they end the day, Tony placed a small case in front of Peter and opened it. Peter's eyes flashed with questions seeing a Rolex wrist watch in front of him. Is this an afterthought of a graduation gift? A birthday gift? Cause Dad already gave him those when he got a new telescope and a yacht cruise in Greece and Italy.

"Is this a post-birthday gift? Cause Dad you don't have to. I still have my watch and it works just as good." He also has a set of watches but not as extensive and fancy as this one and the one's Dad have.

"Nope. That yacht was your birthday gift. This is just your new pinata for a cricket."

"Wait? What?" Peter stood up and his eyes widened. "That yacht is mine?" When they had gone to Europe for his birthday for a week, he just thought Dad rented it for their stay. It was a luxury yacht, one of the most beautiful boats he had ever seen and he boarded it not knowing it's a present for him, he can't believe it.

Tony picked the watch up and put it into Peter's wrist.

"Well, I thought you already knew. Now, this isn't just an ordinary wrist watch. It's somehow like my gauntlet."

After Tony double tapped the watch, it assembled into an armor glove around Peter's hand and Peter can't believe his eyes and his jaw dropped. "Whoa, this is... this is, this is the most amazing thing I'd ever seen!"

"As what we've talked about before, you'll just use this when it's really necessary. Last minute option, only when I'm not around to protect you, capishe?"

Tony upgraded Peter's defense toy into something that Peter could wear, not just something he'll pull out of a bagpack cause that can be inefficient when it comes to life or death situations.

He always has enemies everywhere and Peter as his only heir, only son, can be a possibility for the bad guys to target on to get to him and he cannot let something like that to ever happen again.

"Capishe. Oh my god, Dad. This is so cool! Thank you!"

Tony chuckles watching Peter's sparkling eyes and he demonstrated what the glove can do.

Peter can't help his excitement. When he was a kid, he had an Iron man helmet and a glove imitation of a repulsor and now he already has a real iron glove. Not exactly the same, but somehow similiar.

He grew up in the care of superheroes, his dad is a superhero. He looks up to all of them and he knows he can never be one of them, but at the back of his head no matter how he tried to push past it, he can't help but think of the possibilities.

That dreaded what if.

_Will it be too wrong to dream of being one?_

* * *

The resounding sound of the electric guitar of Shoot to Thrill awakened Peter's senses like a bolt. The rock and roll lyrics blazes through the speakers of his room.

Groaning on his loud alarm of a rock song, he put the pillows on his ears to tune it out hoping that the song will just put him back to sleep but every second that he doesn't get up and open his eyes, the volume of the speaker just keeps getting louder.

This is one of his and Dad's favorite songs but now it's turning to his most hated. He stayed up late last night to get all his projects done. Perhaps, juggling school work and club practice isn't a good idea after all.

"Okay, okay. Friday, cut it out. I'm awake." Slumping his shoulders in droopy eyes, he got up half-eyes closed to his bathroom. The automatic blinds of his room revealing a glorious sunrise.

"Good morning, Peter. Weather in New York today is 65 degrees with scattered clouds. A high chance of rain is expected this afternoon so don't forget to bring your umbrella."

"Kay, Thanks, Fri." Peter called out from his shower and after a few minutes he's already groomed up and ready for breakfast. Friday is totally different from Jarvis, whereas Jarvis speaks like a Britishly formal butler, Friday is a perky Irish who speaks to him like a friend.

He immediately saw his Dad and Pepper already there having their coffee and greets and kisses their check.

"Good morning sweetheart, I heard you're going to see some dinosaurs today." Pepper teased and Tony can't help but chuckle.

Peter rolled his eyes at his Dad as he munches on some toast. He's never been to this museum before. The one's he only went to are the museums in DC when he was a child and waiting for Dad to end some meetings. But he guess it's just the irony of having a close enough attraction, you never get to actually check it out knowing it's just close and you can visit it anytime. Mr. Harrington said they're going to visit 8 exhibits.

"You know we're heading out to Malibu today right, bud? We'll be in DC by afternoon until day after tomorrow to finalize the transition. You have the Tower all to yourself this weekend so you can invite some friends over if you like."

It's already been a year since they started transitioning all of the operations from Malibu to be moved to the Tower and the new Stark HQ in DC. It's getting hard for Pepper to travel back and forth from east and west coast on a weekly basis so Tony decided to just bring it closer to home.

As they drove closer to school, he can already see his classmates and the yellow buses waiting. They parked a short distance from the crowd and Peter bid his goodbye and kissed Pepper in her cheek before stepping out the car.

Tony stepped out as well and waved his hand to Ned, some of the students are even waving their hands, thrilled to see Tony Stark aka Iron Man early in the morning.

"Get back home safe, okay?" Tony said as Peter hugged him close.

"Always will. I love you, Dad."

Dad kissed his head. "I love you, bud. I'll see you Sunday."

Peter walked to where his classmates are while the car drove to the airport where the jet is.

* * *

"It would've been really cool if the SHIELD's Academy for Science and Tech still exist. I would definitely apply," Ned tried to make conversation as they enter the third exhibit of the Museum. He's already getting bored on all the history artifacts of the War they've been seeing.

"Are you really taking pictures of those things or secretly taking pictures of Liz?"

"What? No! Hey, I'm only taking pictures relevant for the school paper okay. And I heard SHIELD only accept people with doctorate degrees." Peter replied after capturing another set of photos in his camera.

"We could definitely do that. It'll be so cool, we could be agents, saving the world with our minds. Not telekinetically though. Just with our brains and stuff."

Peter scrunched up his brows, thinking Dude what are you talking about? but still continued on what he's doing.

"Oh I forgot you can't be an agent, you'll be the next Tony Stark." Ned said casually that made Peter stopped taking pictures.

"There's no next Tony Stark, Ned. Tony Stark will always be just my dad."

Ned shook his shoulders. "If you say so."

The next exhibits passed by like a blur and they even saw Captain America's exhibit which made the students understand more of Steve's role in the success of their win during the war.

They're now listening at the tour guide drawling on the different works of different scientists. But something really familiar made Ned stop and immediately tucked Peter's shirt before he can walk away with the rest of the group.

"Peter, look, your Mom's here."

Reading the carved name, Peter can't believe it at first. But it really is true. _"Mary Fitzpatrick Parker"_ engraved in a corner along with some really old paperworks and frames.

"How come I didn't know Mom's works gonna be here?"

There's also a little picture of his mom with his step dad with their team.

_Mary Parker, PH.D. Biochemistry and Engineering._

He fascinatingly inspected all the things. There lay different sketches but one that really caught his eye is a lone preserved dead spider in a frame.

He's never seen anything like it.

"Dad's not gonna believe this." He immediately took his phone out and looking at his phone's front camera, he started recording like he's talking to his Dad. "Dad, check this out. Mom's works are here, this is so cool! Ned, look here. Gonna show this to my Dad later."

Mr. Harrington suddenly showed up and finally found his missing students. "Peter, Ned. What're you doing there? Come on. All your classmates are having fun on that body immersive exhibit. You can't miss it."

"We're coming, sir! Peter come on."

"You go ahead. I gotta take a picture of this, I've never seen this before. Dad will be surprised this got wind up here. He'll retrieve this for sure."

"Okay, but wrap it up. I'll tell Sir you went to the restroom."

"Thanks, Ned."

He took pictures of the sketches. He somehow cannot understand the writing, like it's in some sort of code.

"I wonder what Mom's been working on."

He takes a picture of the small frame focusing on the spider but the flash of the camera suddenly popped off reflecting, producing a white picture.

"Oops, I forgot to change the settings."

He attempts to take a picture of it again without the flash but upon looking again at the frame he stopped curious.

"What..."

_Where is the spider inside?_

He touched the frame even though they can't touch anything in the exhibit, just to check but clearly the spider isn't there.

He looked around and there's no one in sight except him.

There's no way someone captured that spider in a split of a second the moment he took a picture.

Sudden goosebumps came over to him. He's not the one to be afraid that easily but can't deny the feel of something strange.

He started to back away and put his phone in his pocket.

But before he can turn around a sharp and stinging pain came radiating at the back of his head like he was pricked.

"Ow!"

Hissing at the jolt of pain he's been feeling, he unconsciously touched the back of his head that stings. He then felt a thin weave of silk from the bitten spot and snatched it.

"A spider's web? How come?"

Looking at the spider's silk web in his hand, he wondered if that spider did this.

_But how did that spider suddenly came back to life?_

How on earth did that happen? How did it get out of the frame? Does it just winded up there? Or was it there years before? But how could it have crawled its way out if it's dead already?

"This is really really weird."

His heart's now starting to race and his mind's still raising questions he doesn't know the answers about.

As he's about to walk out of there, he suddenly heard a soft crackle in his shoes, like he stepped onto something.

"Oh no no no no."

Checking his sole, he found out his assumptions are right.

"Great, now I've killed my Mom's spider. I'm so sorry, Mom."

I'm a spider killer.

Face palming, a little relieved seeing that he's not completely crushed the little thing but still dismayed.

"Peter? You're still in here? Next Exhibit's halfway over." Mr. Harrington's now a little upset seeing his best student missing the experience.

Peter ran towards his teacher still clinging his hand at the back of his neck trying to relieve the bitten mark.

* * *

When was the last time he took the subway? He can't remember. But he can see nothing much has changed. It still is the same old train he remembers and people looking somewhere and minding their own business.

He's still a few stations away from the station he's needs to get off. Minutes tick by but it started to feel like hours.

Why does it always feels like an eternity when I'm waiting and hurrying up to something.

He can see the sky starting to loom darker against the skyscrapers. Friday's right, it's starting to rain.

Now's not the right time to feel this. He's been feeling weird and he can't explain it. Ever since the end of their fieldtrip, he's been feeling chilly. At first he thought maybe it's just the approaching autumn chill but then he also started to sweat profusely. He's supposed to have plans with Ned's to Queens and hangout before going back to the Tower but he had to cancel last minute.

More people started to come as the rush hour emerge. He closed his eyes to relax.

Nope, I am not gonna throw up in here.

As much as he likes to sit still and ease the growing headache he's been feeling, he can't. The more it gets crowded, the more heavy he feels.

A pregnant lady stood over in front of him, and he gave his seat away. So he stand clinging at one of the bar handles like his life depended on it. The train's screeching and bumping only makes it worse.

One more station. One more station and you're going to get out of this.

This is the worst day to take the Subway and have the flu. Yes, this is just the flu, he convinced himself.

Stepping out of the train and having to take a bunch of stairs to get out underground, enveloped him like an eternity of torture. Every step is pins and needles and his vision's started to double.

What is this? Why am I feeling like this? What is happening to me?

Dad. I have to call Dad.

He searched for his pockets but his phone's not there. He opened his bagpack and finally found it.

_13 missed calls from Dad._

His hands are shacking, the cold, the rain, the fever. The phone vibrated from another call but before he can even answer, it slipped away from his hold and landed on the cold hard bricked ground shattering the screen.

"No please no..." He picked it up trying to get it to work but the thing is useless now.

He only have one thought in mind. To get home. He stumbled on the ground while the rain poured.

"Boy, are you okay?"

Heaving heavy breaths, Peter looked up to see a set of concerned eyes from an old man trying to help him back up.

"Yeah, yeah, I am. Thank you."

The nice gentleman picked up his umbrella and he tried hard to walk again forcing every ounce of energy into his footsteps.

Trying to walk straight and fast as he could even though he could see the Tower just a block from him but getting there feels like a mile away.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Stark." A pair of guards greeted him and opened the glass doors of the Lobby open wide for him.

_That's not me. That's my Dad._

Speaking of Dad, if he knows I'm like this, I'm screwed. He has more important things to take care of, I'm making him worry again.

He walked slowly to the private elevator ignoring the greetings and concerned glances of the people in the lobby. As much as he'd like to greet them all back like he does everytime he gets home, he just doesn't have the energy to do so.

"Hey, Fri.." Peter barely whispered as he sits and slumped back at the elevator as it goes up.

Peter didn't hear the usual perky welcoming voice of Friday whenever he's back from school, instead he heard a concerned and somehow hint of fright in Friday's voice and might've wondered in he's hallucinating. "Peter! Your temperature's been increasingly flaring up above normal human limit. This is impossible-"

Half the sentence didn't even register to his mind. He just wants to sleep.

"Mr. Stark already coming here, Peter. Your watch gave us an alert of your vitals. He's already left DC since you've taken the subway. His ETA's within 10 minutes. We've been trying to contact you on your phone but you're not answering the whole time. Please try not to fall asleep. Emergency services are also already on their way."

Elevator already reaches the Penthouse and Peter tried his best to stand up but ended up falling anyway. So he had no choice but to crawl his way out. He felt like he's seen this kind of scenario before.

"I want to sleep now Fri."

Laying on the floor staring at the ceiling as his vision gobble, Friday's anxious words started to sound gibberish, his eyelids are getting heavier. He wanted to stay awake but everything else started to shut down until it is all pitch black.

* * *

Tony stared at the DC skyline as Pepper dawdled on again. They can't have this fight again. They've had a million conversations like this before and he's hearing this after their whole day spent on meetings and checking everything's in place for the start of Operations of the new HQ in DC is giving him a headache. _Give me a break, Pep_.

"Are you even listening to me, Tony?" He turned around to see Pepper's agitated face.

"Are you? Because Pepper, you know I can't give this up."

For the nth time, He's not giving up the arc reactor. He can't. He knew somehow Pepper was right on some points especially the mistakes and decisions he's made because of it but it's the only thing he knows how to protect his family safe.

Pepper's about to make her remark and prove Tony he is wrong on so many levels when she was stopped by an alarm from Tony's phone.

Tony stared at his phone in disbelief. "This can't be right."

He can see Peter's vitals in red alert. He's not the one to monitor his son's every movement but he gave that watch as a precaution, to alert him when Peter's in danger.

"What's wrong," Pepper can tell something's up.

"I have to go," Tony immediately kissed her cheek and before she can even reply, he already had the suit flying towards him ready to take off.

* * *

Tony's flying thrice as fast. Perfect timing that couple weeks ago he upgraded a brand new booster to his repulsors. Calls to Peter go straight to voicemails until it got out of reach. He can see Peter's vitals on his monitor still going up on an unprecedented rate. How could this happen? This is above normal levels that the normal human body can't survive. What happened at that fieldtrip? He shouldn't have agreed on letting Peter on that! What did his son do? Why wasn't I in here of all places?

Tony landed on the Penthouse on the shortest amount of travel time possible from DC to NYC in exactly ten minutes.

"Peter!"

His heart stopped for a bit as he saw Peter's body soaked pale lying on the floor. He hurriedly went to his side to see Peter's face sleeping but can already tell his child's in pain. "Pete, wake up." He started to lift the boy up carefully and carried him on to the bed.

Tony's heart stated to race and his hands now started to shake from nervousness as Peter's still got no response. He was full of courage earlier before arriving, convincing himself it's going to be alright, Peter's going to be alright he'll make sure of that. But now seeing his fragile little boy, his walls are starting to break down, Peter is his strength and his weakness. He was supposed to be safe.

"Pete come on. Fri, ch-check-scan his body. Check for anything unusual. Where is the goddamn ambulance. They should be here by now!"

Tony's now shouting, he's not the one to stammer but he doesn't know what to do now. He can't break down and panic but what is he to do. Who can help his son when he doesn't know what he's suffering from? And where the fuck is Bruce when you needed him? He needed a Doctor right now.

"There's been a massive collision on the fifth on the way here. No cars can pass not even the ambulance. I've contacted another hospital Sir, the air ambulance is now on their way. Upon scanning, there's a bite mark on the back of Peter's neck."

Tony immediately checked and there it is, halfway gone now but he can see the mark on it. Has his son been poisoned? but what animal would do something like this? Where did he got it from? He need more info that only Peter can tell.

He asked Friday for antidotes and also checked Peter's photo gallery on the cloud. After a second of scanning, he started to play the video made earlier and his eyes started to open wide in shock.

"How on earth, in a public museum of all places. Goddamnit!"

_This can't be happening. No, Mary. You can't do this to your son._

"Friday, stop the helicopter, tell them Peter's already stable. Call Dr. Palmer. I need her here."

I need someone I can trust and I can't let Peter go to any hospital right now. I don't need them to treat my child as a walking experiment.

He caressed his son's hair, closing his eyes as he planted a kiss on his forehead.

If that spider bit Peter, he can only hope his son will be able to survive it, that his body can handle it. He doesn't know what that spider can do or what it'll do to his son. But one thing's for sure, he knew Mary wouldn't let his son die or so he hope.


End file.
